Accident on Edo Road: 11 Dead, Several Injured

In a horrifying accident that occurred on the Edo State section of the Benin-Lagos motorway, eleven people were reported to have died and eight others to have been injured yesterday.

A Toyota Hiace 18-seater bus and a Dangote articulated truck were involved in the accident at the Ovia River in the state’s Ovia North East local government area.

According to reports, the incident occurred at the Ovia River around 11 am when a truck travelling from Lagos to Benin struck a bus travelling at a reduced speed after brushing the back of a Kia car. Eleven people were killed instantly, and numerous others were injured.

According to a witness, the truck that was travelling at top speed rammed into the Toyota Hiace bus, killing the passengers, as it slowed down at the problematic section of the Ovia River bridge on its way to Edo.

Additionally, it was learned that some of the victims and bus passengers were travelling from Lagos after attending a programme put on by a well-known church there.

We had a crash on the bridge at Ovia River this morning, according to Paul Okpe, the Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), who confirmed the accident. Unfortunately, a truck collided with a Toyota Hummer Bus, resulting in 11 fatalities and eight injuries. Our ambulances and three vehicles transported both the deceased and the injured to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH).

A small Kia car was just barely missed by the truck as it collided with the hummer bus. Close to our office at the toll gate, the three vehicles are in the police station.

“We are deferring to our Accident Investigations to determine the probable cause, but the truck collided with the vehicles, and the casualties were in the bus,” the statement reads.