Anthony Joshua's driver attempted overtake before fatal crash, trial hears
Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, is charged with offences including causing death by dangerous driving and reckless driving.
Anthony Joshua’s driver tried to overtake before the fatal crash, the trial has heard
The driver of a car carrying Anthony Joshua was trying to overtake another vehicle when it crashed, killing two of the boxer’s friends, a court has heard.
Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, is facing 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 overtaking a moving truck and collided with a parked lorry.
Joshua’s personal trainer, Latif Ayodele, and strength coach, Sina Ghami, died in the crash.
A second defendant, Abubakar Adamu, 35, the driver of the stationary lorry the car hit, 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 reached the scene, both the damaged Lexus and the stationary lorry had been removed.
However, officers found debris from the crash and soya beans scattered on the road from the lorry’s load, he added.
Ajayi said the only items recovered from the Lexus were a logbook, painkillers and an energy drink, which were found near the driver’s side.
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 that police had still not taken a statement from Joshua after the crash.
During cross-examination, Kayode’s lawyer questioned Ajayi about the missing statement, and 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.”