A couple and their child have been confirmed dead by the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) following an auto crash that occurred around the Secretariat bus stop end of the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway.
Aside from the three deceased victims, two persons sustained critical injuries that underscored the speed at which the three vehicles involved in the accident were traveling on the road.
Minutes after the accident, the truck driver was said to have absconded from the scene with his vehicle, leaving the victims in peril and evading accountability for the fatal incident.
As gathered, the two injured victims trapped within the wreckage of the vehicle were carefully extricated and conveyed by the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) to a public hospital for urgent medical attention.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the three deceased family members, who were also trapped together, were recovered and handed over to the Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit (SEHMU) for immediate evacuation.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, who confirmed the auto crash on Wednesday, described the commuters’ deaths as an unbearable and irreplaceable loss.
According to him, preliminary investigations revealed that the incident involved three vehicles (Audi, Toyota Camry & Toyota Corolla) initiated when a heavily loaded truck travelling at excessive speed violently struck one of the vehicles from the rear. The impact caused the vehicle to lose control, colliding with two additional moving vehicles, thereby triggering the fatal chain-reaction accident.
In the statement released by the agency’s spokesperson, Adebayo Taofiq, Bakare-Oki reiterated LASTMA’s warning against reckless speeding, particularly by drivers of articulated and heavily loaded trucks.
He emphasized that excessive speed remains one of the most lethal contributors to road fatalities and urged motorists to exercise extreme caution, adhere strictly to speed regulations and cultivate defensive driving practices along highways.
Bakare-Oki further assured Lagosians that LASTMA remains steadfast in enhancing traffic surveillance, enforcing regulations, and collaborating with security and emergency agencies to prevent recurrence of similar tragedies.
