Anthony Joshua Was Originally Sitting In The Front Seat Of The Car Where His Best Friend Was Killed

Anthony Joshua was originally sitting in the front seat of the car where his best friend was killed, but then the driver told him to sit in the back because he couldn’t see the wing mirror, according to the driver’s lawyer.

AJ ,36, swapped seats from the front to the back of his SUV before the smash which killed his best friends and coaches Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele just hours after they arrived in Nigeria for a holiday.

The driver, Kayode Adeniyi, is now sitting in Nigerian prison facing four charges – including causing death by dangerous driving and not having a valid driver’s license.

Adeniyi pleaded not guilty when the charges were read out to him in court. He claims he is innocent and that the brakes stopped working.

The driver’s lawyer Olalekan Abiodun told MailOnline: ’My client has pleaded not guilty and what happened was an accident, I haven’t had a full chance to speak with him yet but I know he is saying the brakes did not work.

‘I also understand that the journey started in Lagos and that initially Anthony had got into the front seat but the driver asked him to swap seats.‘

‘He did this because Anthony is a big fellow and he couldn’t see the wing mirror properly so he asked him to move and he sat behind the driver.’

‘From what I understand Latif then changed seats with Anthony.’

Jeez, how awful must that be for the family of Latif Ayodele to learn? It’s also crazy to think we would all saying RIP to Anthony Joshua right now if he had remained in that seat, or sat on the other side of the car. No doubt that will make his already beyond-heavy survivor’s guilt even worse.

Outside court the driver’s son told the Daily Mail his dad was innocent and it was ‘just an unlucky accident’.

Ifeoluwa Adeniyi, 19, said: ‘The family is very upset by what’s happened and we are sorry for the deaths of the two people.

‘Dad is not a fast driver, he was following the speed limit and then the brakes failed, he said he was pushing the pedal but nothing was happening.

”He tries to swerve and avoid the truck parked by the side of the road but hit it. He’s been driving for Anthony for three years, he’s a good driver.

‘I know that when the journey started in Lagos Anthony was sitting in the front by the driver but my dad asked him to sit behind because he was blocking his view.’

I guess AJ will be able to confirm, if he chooses, that the driver asked him to switch seats, because there is a cynical side of me that thinks they’ve made that up in case the idea that he ‘saved’ AJ’s life curries favour somehow.

No matter what he says though, I’m pretty sure he’s going to jail for a long time. Apparently the truck he crashed into was parked illegally too, and police in Nigeria are still hunting the driver.

RIP Sina and Latif – let’s hope justice is done.

For the man who briefly woke up from a coma to blame his girlfriend for causing the car crash that eventually led to his death, click HERE.