The driver of a sachet water producing factory, Ademola Awe, has allegedly crushed three siblings and a motorcyclist to death on Ekundayo Street in the Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State.
The victims were identified as Esther Orimisan, 24; Kofoworola Orimisan, 17; two-year-old Emmanuel Orimisan; and the motorcyclist, Femi Shojedo.
PUNCH Metro gathered that Awe, who was driving a Ford pick-up van with number plate GGE 42 XN around 11pm on Saturday allegedly under the influence of alcohol, had hit another vehicle on his way, but while attempting to escape from the scene, he allegedly drove without the vehicle’s headlights in order to avoid being apprehended.
But tragedy struck when he drove into Ekundayo Street, as Shojedo, who was conveying the siblings to their home on Mosalasi Street, had a head-on collision with Awe’s van at the junction leading into the street.
An eyewitness, Bode Abisoye, said the victims were not aware that the van was coming towards their direction, adding that the tragedy would have been averted if Awe had switched on the headlights of the van.
He stated that Awe attempted to flee from the scene of the accident, but residents gave him a chase until he drove the van into a gutter.
Abisoye said, “He (Awe) scratched a car and was trying to escape, because of the cost of repairing it; in the process, he switched off the truck’s headlights and as he made to enter Ekundayo Street, he rammed into the motorcyclist and the three passengers he was carrying in front of the Model Hospital. We were telling him to come down to rescue the victims but he refused.
“We had to chase him till he drove into a gutter, but we noticed that he was drunk when we approached him. He even refused to alight from the vehicle and if not for the involvement of the police and the neighbourhood security men, he would have escaped.
“Aside from the motorcyclist, the three passengers were siblings, two girls and a two-year-old boy. All the victims were still alive when the accident happened, but they later died at the Epe General Hospital due to the severity of the injuries they sustained.”
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
