Anthony Joshua's driver attempted overtake before fatal crash, trial hears

BySimi Jolaoso Africa Correspondent.

Key points

• Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, faces charges including causing death by dangerous driving and driving without a valid national driver's licence.
• Joshua's personal trainer, Latif Ayodele, and strength coach, Sina Ghami, died in the crash.
• 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.
• "100% it's tough for me, but I know it's even tougher for their parents."

For context, 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 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.

Meanwhile, the court was informed 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. 'Mental strength therapy' – Joshua returns to gym.

In practice, 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 informed 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 discovered by officers, he went on.

In practice, the only items recovered from the Lexus were a logbook, painkillers and an energy drink. It were discovered near the driver's side, Ajayi stated.

Meanwhile, the court heard police had yet to take a statement from Joshua after 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 since he "didn't have his number". The trial was adjourned until 10 September.

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.

Taken together, the developments around anthony Joshua' s driver attempted overtake before fatal crash, trial hears point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.