One killed in Edo road crash, hoodlums torch five trucks

One killed in Edo road crash, hoodlums torch five trucks

Alexander Okere
One person was on Sunday crushed to death when a Mercedes Benz car coming ‎from Lagos collided with a stationary truck on the Benin-Lagos expressway, in Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State.
It was learnt that the accident occurred at about 9:30am.
Our correspondent gathered that the driver, simply identified as Iyare, was driving apparently from the Lagos axis of the road when h‎e suddenly drove the car into the rear of the articulated truck parked on a grass verge.
The victim was said to have been rushed to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Ugbowo, where he was confirmed dead.
It was learnt that the truck belonged to the Seven Up Bottling Company opposite the scene of the fatal accident.
Some residents in the area said that the driver may have been under a hot pursuit by customs officials, as the C class station wagon had no number plates and look quite new.
One of them said, “The vehicle looked like it was coming from Lagos and was being chased by customs officials before it suddenly crashed into the truck. But the truck was not moving before the collision occurred.
“Imagine the impact of the accident. I don’t think he would have survived.‎”
But it was gathered that some youths‎, who were said to have been irked by the development, blamed the accident on the parking of the companies vehicles on both sides of the road and, subsequently, set five of the trucks ablaze.
They were said to have headed for the company premises but fled the scene, following the intervention of the police.
When our correspondent arrived at the scene, ‎some police officers and officials from the Federal Road Safety Corps were trying to ensure a free flow of traffic.
Smoke also billowed from one of the burnt trucks, while the smell of charred bottles ‎pervaded the air.
A senior police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said no sooner had the driver been taken to UBTH than the youths, suspected to be hoodlums, started to set the trucks on fire.
The police source said, “As they (youths) brought him out ‎and discovered that he was dead, some took him to hospital. And the next thing was that they besieged the company and set the (company’s) property on fire.
“It took our intervention to prevent them from entering the factory.”

‎The Toll Gate Unit Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Ameen Adewale, said the remains of the driver had been deposited in the mortuary, while efforts were being made to removed the damaged vehicle.