The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has confirmed that one person has died and two others were injured in an accident on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway in Lagos. The incident, which took place along the Cele Expressway, involved a serious collision that left several vehicles damaged and prompted a swift emergency response.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, provided details about the accident in a statement released on Saturday. He explained that the accident occurred when a fully-loaded 40-foot container truck, along with five commercial buses and two private vehicles—a Camry and a Sienna bus—were involved in a crash.
According to Bakare-Oki, initial investigations revealed that the truck, which was carrying two large containers, experienced a severe brake failure while traveling at high speed. This caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle, leading to the containers detaching and falling onto the five commercial buses and two private cars, causing substantial damage and injuries.
“Preliminary findings from on-site investigations indicate that the heavy-duty truck, conveying two large containers, suffered a catastrophic brake failure while travelling at an excessive speed. The resulting loss of control led to the dislodgement of the containers, which subsequently collapsed onto five commercial buses and a pair of private vehicles, causing significant structural damage and human casualties,” he said.
As a result of the collision, an innocent pedestrian tragically lost their life, while one of the bus drivers sustained multiple compound fractures to both his arm and leg. The two other injured victims were promptly attended to and taken by the LASAMBUS ambulance to the General Hospital in Isolo for medical treatment.
Bakare-Oki also commended the swift response of emergency services, stating that LASTMA officers, together with the Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA), the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and local citizens, worked together to carry out an efficient rescue operation. Their coordinated efforts helped extract the injured individuals and restored the flow of traffic on the heavily impacted expressway.
Additionally, police officers from the Ijesha-Tedo Police Division were deployed to the scene to maintain order and ensure the smooth operation of the emergency response.
Bakare-Oki offered his condolences to the family of the deceased and expressed his hopes for the speedy recovery of the injured. He further urged all motorists to adhere to speed limits and traffic regulations to prevent accidents like this from happening again.
“The public is assured that a thorough investigation is underway to ascertain full responsibility and forestall future recurrences of such preventable tragedies. Members of the public are enjoined to report traffic violations, emergencies, vehicle breakdowns, or accidents through LASTMA’s dedicated Toll-Free Hotline: 080000527862,” Bakare-Oki concluded.
