Mob Sets Vehicle Ablaze As Driver Kills Dispatch Rider, Injures Other

A yet-be-identified motorist has disappeared after crushing a dispatch rider to death around Charly Boy Bus Stop, Gbagada Expressway, Lagos State.

Another dispatch rider, Emmanuel Odoh, however, escaped death by a whisker as the driver rammed him alongside the dead victim.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the victims were on their way to a destination in the state on Wednesday when the fleeing driver, who was at top speed, knocked them down.

Odoh said the driver, on realising what he did, fled the scene, adding that an angry mob set his vehicle ablaze.

He said, “The accident happened around 1pm on Wednesday. I work with an online store, Jumia. I picked an order and went to deliver it at Mende, Maryland. While on my way back, I saw as the driver of a Hilux vehicle drove towards my directing at top speed.

“I quickly rode towards the side of the road and in the process, overtook a dispatch rider at my front. But as I looked at my mirror to know what was going on behind me, the Hilux crushed both of us.

“I managed to jump on a Toyota Camry. When the driver saw me, he slowed down and that was how I managed to escape. But the other dispatch rider was not lucky; the impact of the collision threw him up. His helmet removed and he used his forehead to hit the ground. He died shortly afterwards.

“The motorist and the person with him quickly got down and pretended as if they were calling for help, but ran away. People would have apprehended them, but they thought the other guy was not dead. So, out of annoyance, area boys burnt the vehicle.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, said he would get back to our correspondent after being briefed.

He had yet to do so as of the time this report was filed.

PUNCH