Man dies, wife critically injured as granite truck falls on car in Lagos

By Chiazo Ogbolu

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) said a male motorist was killed while his wife was critically injured when that a granite-laden truck toppled onto the Toyota Saloon car along the Lekki–Ajah Expressway on Thursday.

The General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, in a statement to newsmen in Lagos said the road traffic catastrophe transpired at Eleko Junction of the expressway.

According to him, preliminary security briefings revealed that the articulated truck, heavily burdened with granite and speeding from the Epe axis, was approaching Eleko Junction, when it reportedly had a brake malfunction.

Bakare-Oki added that the mechanical failure precipitated an abrupt loss of vehicular control, causing the truck to move off its designated path and collide forcefully with a Toyota saloon car, travelling from Ajah inward Epe.

He added that the sheer momentum of the impact resulted in the truck toppling and descending upon the smaller vehicle, crushing it beneath its prodigious weight.

He added that the driver of the Toyota saloon car became entrapped within the mangled wreckage.

The LASTMA boss said that through the intervention of LASTMA personnel and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in collaboration with public-spirited bystanders, the victim was extricated from the debris.

“Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife, seated in the front passenger position, sustained life-threatening injuries and was immediately rescued for urgent medical attention.

“The remains of the deceased and his critically injured spouse, were evacuated from the accident scene by an ambulance service deployed by the FRSC for requisite medical and mortuary procedures,” he said.

He decried the fleeing of the driver from the accident scene upon witnessing the recovery of the deceased victim, thereby evading lawful accountability, describing it as abdication of responsibility.

He pointed out that operatives of the Akodo Police Division furnished essential security reinforcement, maintaining order and safeguarding the vicinity throughout the duration of the rescue and recovery operations.

While praying for the full recuperation of the injured spouse, he reaffirmed the agency’s resolute commitment to rigorous enforcement of traffic statutes, particularly against reckless driving and egregious violations of established road safety protocols.

He said in a separate yet equally alarming occurrence, a 33,000-litre fuel tanker erupted into flames at midnight, around Ile-Zik inward Magboro, along the Lagos–Abeokuta Expressway.

“The LASTMA rescue team, in synergy with the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, successfully extinguished the inferno before it could escalate into a large-scale disaster.

“To guarantee unobstructed emergency access and operational efficiency, LASTMA personnel immediately diverted vehicular traffic into the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor.

“This helped to preserve public safety while minimising disruption. Upon the successful conclusion of firefighting and recovery exercises, the affected corridor was duly reopened, restoring the free flow of vehicular movement,” he said.

(NAN)