Deadly Night Accident on Benin-Ore Expressway

Location: Benin–Ore Expressway (near Ofosu junction)
Incident Time: Around 10:30 PM, July 19, 2025
Crash Type: Head-on collision
Casualties: 3 confirmed dead, 2 critically injured
Vehicles Involved: Dangote truck vs private sedan

Last night, a private Toyota Camry, reportedly driving with only one working headlamp, crashed head-on into a Dangote truck attempting an overtaking maneuver in near darkness. The impact crushed the sedan’s front section, killing three of its five occupants on the spot.

Eyewitness Ijeoma Chibuzo told RoadKing.ng:

“The truck driver thought the incoming car was a bike with one light. He tried to pass another trailer, then boom, it was a car. Too late.”

Common but Deadly: Poor Lighting Habits

This tragedy highlights a deadly behavior that’s far too common on Nigerian roads, driving with; faulty or dim headlights, no rear reflectors or brake lights and completely blacked-out trailers and tankers

Many drivers see this as minor, but at night or in rainy conditions, it becomes lethal.

Officials from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) arrived at the scene an hour later. The truck driver fled but was later apprehended at a nearby filling station. The car was a 2008 Camry with expired registration, reportedly returning from a burial ceremony in Edo State.

RoadKing.ng Analysis

Night driving in Nigeria is dangerous not just because of poor roads, but due to:

• Lack of road markings
• Inadequate highway lighting
• Unlit or unreflective vehicles
• Fatigued and untrained drivers

Safety Recommendations:

1. Enforce vehicle lighting inspections at night checkpoints
2. Equip long-distance drivers with emergency lighting kits
3. Provide free public reflectors for trucks and buses
4. Encourage roadside mechanic checks before night travel