The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has disclosed that three members of the same family, a father, mother and their young child, lost their lives in a fatal multi-vehicle crash at Secretariat inward Otedola Bridge on the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway early morning of Wednesday.
According to LASTMA, two other victims sustained critical injuries in the accident, which involved an Audi, a Toyota Camry and a Toyota Corolla.
Preliminary findings showed that the collision was triggered when a heavily loaded truck, reportedly speeding, rammed into one of the cars from behind, forcing it into two other moving vehicles and setting off a deadly chain reaction.
“The truck driver fled the scene immediately with his vehicle, abandoning the victims and evading responsibility for the fatal incident,” Adebayo Taofiq, Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA has said.
He noted that LASTMA personnel arrived the scene promptly and worked with emergency responders to rescue trapped victims and recover the bodies. Two critically injured occupants were extracted from the wreckage and taken away by the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) for urgent medical care, while the remains of the deceased family were handed over to the Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit (SEHMU).
The injured survivors were taken to the Lagos State Emergency and Trauma Centre, Toll Gate, for further treatment. Officers from the Isheri /Olowora Police Division also provided security at the site, while LASTMA evacuated all vehicles involved to prevent additional crashes.
The response effort included the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), LASAMBUS, SEHMU, and the Lagos Fire & Rescue Service.
LASTMA’s General Manager, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, described the deaths as “an unbearable and irreplaceable loss of an entire family,” praying for comfort for the relatives and a speedy recovery for the injured. He condemned the truck driver’s conduct and warned motorists, especially drivers of articulated trucks, against speeding on highways.
Bakare-Oki reiterated that excessive speed remains a leading cause of fatalities and assured residents that LASTMA will continue to strengthen traffic surveillance, enforce safety regulations and collaborate with security and emergency agencies to prevent similar tragedies.
