Speed, Security, and Survival: Reassessing the Anthony Joshua Crash
By Wale Wali
Still on the tragic auto crash involving Anthony Joshua, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of his teammates and friends, Latif “Latz” Ayodele and Sina Ghami.
Anthony Joshua has since been discharged from an undisclosed hospital in Lagos. Reports indicate that following his discharge on Wednesday 31, 2025, he visited a funeral home where the remains of his late friends were being prepared for repatriation.
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In the aftermath of the incident, intense criticism erupted across traditional and international media, online news platforms, and social media.
Many commentators were quick to condemn the Nigerian government and its citizens, focusing largely on the alleged absence of an ambulance to convey Joshua to the hospital promptly.
This narrative gained international traction and sparked widespread outrage. However, amid the criticism, little attention was paid to the swift and decisive intervention of Joshua’s security team, who chose immediate evacuation rather than waiting for emergency responders—an action that may well have saved his life.
It is important to put the incident into proper context. Makun, the location of the crash, is approximately 50.4 km from Ojudu-Berger in Lagos, translating to about a 50-minute drive, and roughly 62 km from the Ogun State Government House. Comparable situations have occurred globally.
A notable example is the fatal crash involving Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his brother, André Silva, on Spain’s A-52 trunk road near Zamora—about 60 km from the city center. In that case, a tyre burst combined with over speeding led to a fire that left the vehicle burned beyond recognition, with the victims identified only through DNA. Emergency responders reportedly arrived late due to the distance involved.
Globally, fatal road accidents linked to over speeding are far from uncommon. The tragic deaths of Paul Walker of the Fast and Furious franchise and his friend Roger Rodas in Valencia, California, remain another stark reminder. In many of these cases, excessive speed and tyre failure were central contributing factors.
In Anthony Joshua’s case, many commentators overlooked the likely role of overspeeding by the driver, choosing instead to focus solely on the absence of an ambulance and the manner in which Joshua was evacuated from the crash site. Preliminary assessments point to tyre failure and excessive speed as the primary causes of the accident.
From an investigative standpoint, it is also plausible that Joshua’s security team and backup SUV were left significantly behind due to the engine superiority and high speed of the Lexus SUV conveying Joshua and his companions.
While various accounts suggest the security team arrived minutes after the crash, what remains indisputable is that their prompt action—without waiting an additional 50 minutes for paramedics—may have been critical to Joshua’s survival.
Rather than condemnation, the security team deserves commendation for their proactiveness and ability to maintain order at the scene. In many similar situations, crowds can become hostile, leading to mobbing or looting.
In contrast, the crowd showed empathy, urging the team to rush Joshua to the nearest hospital—an indication of the respect and affection the public holds for him.
This discussion also ties into a broader issue concerning armored vehicles. While they are designed primarily for protection, the addition of heavy ballistic materials—often between 800 and 1,500 kg—significantly alters their driving dynamics.
Acceleration, handling, and braking are all adversely affected. Although armored SUVs are typically built on powerful platforms such as the Toyota Land Cruiser, Cadillac Escalade, or Mercedes G-Wagon, and may feature engine enhancements like turbocharging, excessive speed remains extremely dangerous.
From personal experience, traveling at high speed in an armored SUV feels almost surreal—like moving through a sealed or vacuum-like environment with minimal external noise. I clearly remember a trip in 2018 with my late boss, Sam Nda-Isaiah (of blessed memory), as we traveled from Lagos to Obafemi Awolowo University for one of his alumni meetings in a bulletproof Range Rover, navigating the severely deteriorated Ibadan–Ilesa Road at very high speed.
That journey ended in a minor accident when the driver, due to over speeding, was unable to avoid a deep pothole. The impact caused the front suspension air balloon on the driver’s side to burst, forcing the vehicle’s body to collapse onto the front left tire. The incident clearly underscored the dangers of excessive speed in armored vehicles, particularly on poor road networks.
We were traveling as a convoy, with my boss and me in the armored SUV while other personnel followed in the backup vehicle. It took approximately 15 minutes or more for the backup team to reach the location where the SUV had been forced to pull over.
Similar delays are common in high-profile security movements—such as the Anthony Joshua incident—where speed and distance often separate lead and support vehicles.
Finally, one must ask: if such an incident had occurred in the UK and emergency services failed to arrive on time, would Wes Streeting, the UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, be addressing the world in a press conference to explain the absence of an ambulance?
Accidents are tragic, but they are universal—and they must be assessed with fairness, context, and objectivity.
Rest in Peace Latz and Sina!
Wali writes from Abuja.
