A family of three – a father, mother and their young child – lost their lives early Wednesday in a devastating multi-vehicle crash on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has confirmed. Two additional victims sustained life-threatening injuries in the incident.
According to a statement issued by LASTMA’s Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment, Adebayo Taofiq, the collision occurred near Secretariat, inward Otedola Bridge, after a speeding, heavily loaded truck rammed into an Audi car from behind. The impact forced the car out of control and into the path of two other vehicles: a Toyota Camry and a Toyota Corolla, resulting in a deadly chain-reaction crash.
The statement noted that the three family members died instantly, describing the tragedy as a stark reminder of the consequences of reckless driving on Nigerian highways.
Taofiq also revealed that, in a disturbing turn of events, the truck driver fled the scene with his vehicle, abandoning the victims and evading immediate arrest.
LASTMA personnel, working alongside the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), rescued the two critically injured victims and transported them to the Lagos State Emergency and Trauma Centre at Toll-Gate for urgent medical treatment. The bodies of the deceased were handed over to the Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit.
Security operatives from the Isheri Olowora Police Division, as well as personnel from the Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and Lagos Fire and Rescue Service, assisted in the rescue operation and traffic management.
LASTMA General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, described the loss of the three family members as “unbearable and irreplaceable,” urging motorists, especially operators of heavily loaded trucks, to avoid speeding and other forms of reckless conduct.
He commended the swift, coordinated response of all emergency agencies involved in managing the aftermath of the accident.
