Drunken driver, others escape death in an accident

Scene of the accident
| credits: Witness

Four persons cheated death on Wednesday after the driver of a Toyota Camry crashed into the Jakande Roundabout in Lekki, Lagos State.

It was learnt that the driver was on top speed, and was heading towards Ajah when the accident happened around 7am.

It was further learnt that the driver and two other occupants of the car were drunk and returning from a birthday party.

A woman, who was in the car, was said to have also attended the party and had been given a free ride by the driver. She, however, escaped unhurt.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the driver lost control and rammed into the roundabout, hitting a lamp post and smashing the windscreen of the car.

The wrecked vehicle, marked AAA 452 BL, was said to have been taken away by policemen from the Ilasan Police Station when our correspondent visited the scene of the incident.

A traffic official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the driver and a youth, who sat beside him, sustained injuries in the head while the third male occupant broke his leg.

He said, “The speed was too much. The moment I saw the car from afar, I envisaged something terrible might happen. Within a few minutes, it veered off the road and rammed into the roundabout. The front windscreen was shattered.

“The driver was injured in the head and fainted. The face of another victim was covered with blood, while the third guy suffered a broken leg. When I moved close to them, they reeked of alcohol.

“The lady among them was lucky. She was not injured. She told us they were coming from a birthday party and that she had cautioned the driver.”

A woman, who sells drinks by the roadside, Ajibike Kolapo, said the three victims were rushed to a hospital by some Good Samaritans, accompanied by the police.

“Some people who were going to their places of work assisted them (the victims). They were taken to a hospital. The driver’s condition was critical. It is just crazy that some people catch fun to the point of bringing woes upon themselves. Only God knows the volume of alcohol they had taken at the party,” she said.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, promised to get back to our correspondent.