No fewer than three traders were killed on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway after a truck crashed into a van loaded with pepper.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the van with number plate, ZUR901XA, was conveying the traders inward Lagos State when the truck rammed into it in the Warewa area of Ogun State, killing the three traders on the spot.

The driver of the van was said to have been injured in the crash which happened around 3am on Wednesday while the truck driver fled the scene.

It was gathered that the remains of the deceased, whose names had yet to be ascertained, were later taken away by officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos Command, while the van’s driver was rushed to a hospital.


 
An eyewitness, Seye Adeleke, said he saw three bodies on the road, adding that the driver of the van was unconscious.

He said, “I was coming from Ibadan around 5am when I saw pepper on the road. Three lifeless bodies were also lying on the road. A man I met there said they were traders and that they were crushed by a truck. The van driver was bleeding profusely.”

A member of a vigilance group in the area, who identified himself only as Bayo, said he was close to the expressway when he heard the sound of the crash. He said the truck driver waited for a moment, but sped off before he could cross to the side of the road where the accidñent occurred.

“I shone torch to get the truck’s number plate, but I did not succeed. All the four passengers in that van were males. Only the driver is alive and he was seriously injured. Some FRSC officials later came to pack their corpses and take the driver to a hospital,” he said.

The Lagos State Sector Commander of the FRSC, H.U. Omeje, confirmed the accident and urged motorists to be cautious while driving.

He said, “At about 3.30am, our men got information of a crash involving a Mitsubishi pickup with number plate, ZUR 901 XA. Four people were involved. Three died instantly while the only survivor sustained injuries.”