Anthony Joshua’s driver tried to overtake before fatal crash, court hears

Image caption, Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, right, leaves court with his lawyer on Thursday

By Simi Jolaoso

Africa correspondent

 Reporting from Sagamu

• Published1 hour ago

The driver of a car carrying Anthony Joshua was attempting to overtake another vehicle when it crashed, killing two of the boxer’s friends, a court in Nigeria has heard.

Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, faces charges including causing death by dangerous driving and driving without a valid national driver’s licence. He denies the charges.

The court was told that the group – who had been travelling to visit Joshua’s father in Ogun State, near Lagos in Nigeria, last December – were asleep when Kayode lost control of his Lexus SUV while he overtook a moving truck and collided with a parked lorry.

Joshua’s personal trainer, Latif Ayodele, and strength coach, Sina Ghami, died in the crash.

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A second defendant Abubakar Adamu, 35, the driver of the stationary lorry the car collided with, denies a charge against him of obstructing the free flow of traffic.

Inspector Christopher Ajayi Taiwo of the Ogun State Motor Traffic Division told the court that by the time he arrived at the scene, both the damaged Lexus and the stationary lorry had been removed.

But debris from the crash and soya beans scattered on the road from the lorry’s load were found by officers, he added.

The only items recovered from the Lexus were a logbook, painkillers and an energy drink, which were found near the driver’s side, Ajayi said.

Image source, Social Media

Image caption, The former heavyweight champion was a passenger in the crash, which killed his team members Latif Ayodele (left) and Sina Ghami (right)

The court heard police has yet to take a statement from Joshua following the crash.

During cross-examination, Kayode’s lawyer questioned Ajayi over the lack of statement, to which he replied that “efforts are ongoing” and that he had not contacted Joshua because he “didn’t have his number”.

The trial was adjourned until 10 September.

Joshua, who was born in Watford, has family roots in Sagamu – a town in Ogun state, near the crash site.

After the collision, the boxer posted a tribute to Ghami and Ayodele on social media.

“I didn’t even realise how special they are,” he wrote.

“I’ll just be walking with them and cracking jokes with them, not even knowing God kept me in the presence of great men.

“100% it’s tough for me, but I know it’s even tougher for their parents.”

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