One person was injured in a crash on the Otedola Bridge axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Wednesday morning, less than 24 hours after a fatal accident on the Kara Bridge axis claimed four lives.
The Otedola crash occurred on Wednesday as traffic congestion triggered by the ongoing rehabilitation of the Kara Bridge persisted, while the Kara fatal crash happened on Tuesday.
The Ogun State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, had on Tuesday confirmed the Kara crash, which involved eight persons and two vehicles – a blue Mitsubishi Cabstar with registration number FGE 753 XA and an ash-coloured HOWO truck with registration number T-695 KT.
FRSC spokesperson, Afolabi Odunsin, said preliminary findings attributed the Kara crash to speeding and wrongful overtaking, with fatigue as a contributing factor. Four male adults died, one was injured and taken to Victory Hospital, Ogere, while three others escaped unhurt.
Less than a day later, the Otedola Bridge crash added to the disruption on the corridor. The incident, which left one person injured, was linked to brake failure amid heavy congestion.
Both crashes occurred within the bottleneck created by the Federal Government’s two-week rehabilitation of the Kara Bridge, which began on September 8 for replacement of damaged expansion joints and is expected to last until September 22.
The repair has narrowed the carriageway, triggering gridlock that on Tuesday left motorists trapped for more than 14 hours, with tailbacks extending beyond Long Bridge towards Magboro and into Lagos.
As of Wednesday morning, traffic was still moving slowly around Kara and OPIC turning.
Sector Commander, Corps Commander Oludare Ogunjobi, has urged motorists to avoid speeding, fatigue driving and unsafe overtaking, especially during early morning trips, and to maintain safe braking distance.
Traffic management personnel remain deployed to the corridor to ease movement and prevent further incidents.
