One dead, six injured in horror crash on Lagos Expressway

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

A female passenger has lost her life while six others sustained severe injuries in a tragic road accident at New Castle Bus Stop inward Gbagada along the Oworonsoki–Apapa Expressway in Lagos.

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) confirmed that its officials swiftly intervened to manage the aftermath of the crash and restore traffic flow along the busy corridor.

According to the Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq, the accident occurred over the weekend when a Volkswagen commercial bus with registration number LSD 654 XY lost control and rammed into a roadside culvert.

Taofiq said the impact of the collision forcefully ejected a female passenger from the vehicle onto the expressway.

He added that tragedy struck moments later when an approaching articulated trailer, unable to avoid the sudden development, ran over the victim lying on the roadway.

“In a tragic turn of events, an oncoming articulated trailer approaching the scene was unable to forestall the sudden occurrence and consequently ran over the passenger who had fallen on the roadway, resulting in her immediate death,” he said.

Taofiq disclosed that six other occupants of the commercial bus, including the driver, sustained varying degrees of severe injuries, with several victims suffering multiple fractures.

He noted that the driver of the articulated trailer reportedly fled the scene shortly after the incident.

According to him, LASTMA operatives monitoring vehicular movement around the Gbagada axis responded swiftly by activating an emergency traffic management protocol around the accident corridor.

He said officials temporarily cordoned off the expressway to prevent secondary crashes and to allow for the safe evacuation of the victims and wreckage from the scene.

“The entire expressway was temporarily secured to ensure seamless evacuation of the deceased, the injured passengers and the damaged commercial bus involved in the accident,” he added.

Taofiq said security personnel from the Pedro Police Division later arrived to provide reinforcement for traffic management officials and emergency responders while maintaining order at the accident scene.

He added that officials of the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) promptly evacuated the six injured victims, including the driver who reportedly sustained a fractured leg, to a nearby hospital for urgent medical treatment.

He further stated that personnel from the Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit (SEHMU) evacuated the remains of the deceased passenger from the scene.

Taofiq said after the rescue and evacuation exercise, LASTMA officials cleared the accident debris and successfully restored normal vehicular movement along the expressway.

Reacting to the incident, the General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, conveyed his condolences to the family of the deceased.

Bakare-Oki also wished the injured victims a quick recovery and reiterated the agency’s commitment to road safety advocacy across Lagos State.

He urged motorists and commercial transport operators to ensure their vehicles are in good mechanical condition before embarking on journeys.

“Strict adherence to routine vehicle maintenance remains an indispensable safeguard against preventable road traffic accidents and a critical measure for the preservation of human lives on our highways,” he said.