A truck in the early hours of Saturday caused panic after it plunged from the Pen Cinema Bridge in Agege, Lagos State, landing directly on two commercial buses parked below.
Operatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) quickly arrived at the scene and rescued the truck driver who was badly injured during the crash.
The situation was confirmed by the General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, through an official statement released in Lagos. The statement, signed by Taofiq Adebayo, who serves as the Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department at LASTMA, gave further details about the accident.
Bakare-Oki noted that the incident happened along Old Abeokuta Road in the Agege area and involved a fully-loaded truck bearing the registration number GGE 624 Y, as well as two commercial Volkswagen buses.
According to him, officers from LASTMA responded immediately after receiving a distress call. They managed to pull the injured driver from the wreckage and handed him over to officers from the Elere Police Division. He was later taken to the General Hospital in Ile-Epo for urgent medical treatment.
“Preliminary inquiries suggest that the truck driver, who suffered grievous fractures to both hands, lost control of the vehicle while navigating the Pen Cinema Bridge. Consequently, the truck plunged from the bridge, landing upon the two commercial buses stationed beneath,” Bakare-Oki said.
In response to the accident, LASTMA officials quickly secured the area, set up barriers around the scene, and diverted traffic to prevent further chaos and ensure the safety of other motorists.
Bakare-Oki also noted that operatives from the Lagos State Emergency Management Authority Response Unit (LASEMA) moved swiftly to clear the accident wreckage from the road, allowing traffic to flow freely again.
He urged truck drivers and all motorists to drive with extra caution, particularly now that the rainy season has begun, stressing the need for strict adherence to road safety measures. He also reminded drivers to make use of newly-installed speed-limiting devices to help prevent accidents.
