The driver of a truck laden with sand lost his life early on Friday, January 23, after sustaining fatal injuries in a tragic road traffic crash involving multiple articulated vehicles, which occurred at Otedola Bridge inward Secretariat, along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway.
Thenewsbearer gathered that the collision was allegedly occasioned by a contest for right of way between two truck drivers.
The other driver was rescued unhurt.
The incident temporarily crippled vehicular movement, prompting an urgent multi-agency emergency intervention.
The Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Adebayo Taofiq, confirmed this in a statement.
According to him, the incident involved a serious collision between two heavy-duty trucks, one of which was laden with sand, while the other conveyed granite.
“The forceful impact led to devastating consequences, resulting in the entrapment of the driver of the sand-laden trailer.
“Operatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) Rescue Team, while on routine nocturnal surveillance and incident monitoring, responded with commendable alacrity.
“The trapped victim was professionally extricated and immediately transferred to the personnel of the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), who conveyed him to the General Hospital, Ikeja, where he was pronounced dead.
“The driver of the second trailer was rescued alive and escaped unhurt,” the LASTMA spokesman said.
In a related development, another traffic incident was recorded approximately 50 metres from the primary crash site, where a separate trailer fully loaded with flour lost stability and overturned, further aggravating traffic congestion along the already compromised corridor.
To forestall a breakdown of law and order and ensure public safety, security operatives from the Alausa Police Division were promptly deployed to the scene to provide adequate security cover, manage crowd control and support ongoing rescue and recovery operations.
The incidents were said to have obstructed nearly 80 percent of the carriageway, thereby compelling the implementation of extensive traffic control and diversion measures.
Consequently, motorists travelling inward Lagos from the Mowe, Kara Bridge and Redemption Camp axis were redirected through the Ojodu–Olole route, connecting Agidingbi, Coca-Cola, Secretariat, and 7-Up to enable continued movement towards Gbagada or Ojota with minimal inconvenience.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Hon. Sola Giwa, described the crashes as deeply regrettable and largely preventable, attributing them to impatience, indiscipline and the refusal of drivers to yield appropriately on the expressway.
He stressed that strict compliance with traffic regulations and the observance of mutual courtesy among motorists remain indispensable in averting such needless loss of life.
Hon. Giwa extended his profound condolences to the family of the deceased driver, praying for fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
He also commended the swift, coordinated and professional response of LASTMA operatives, LASAMBUS personnel and security agencies in effectively managing the emergency.
The Lagos State Government reiterated its unwavering commitment to road safety and once again urges all motorists particularly operators of heavy-duty vehicles to exercise restraint, professionalism and strict adherence to traffic laws in order to safeguard lives and property across the state.
