Truck Kills Motorist, Injures Wife in Lekki-Aja Crash
A granite-laden truck on Thursday killed a male motorist and left his wife critically injured in an accident that occurred at EKEKO Junction along the Lekki–Ajah Expressway, Lagos.
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) confirmed the incident in a statement by its spokesperson, Adebayo Taofiq.
The driver of the articulated truck reportedly fled the scene upon witnessing the recovery of the deceased victim.
Taofiq said the heavily burdened truck was travelling at an inordinate speed at Epe axis when it reportedly experienced a brake malfunction, leading to a forceful collision with a Toyota saloon car travelling from Ajah inward Epe.
“The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA)today swiftly responded to a grievous early morning road traffic catastrophe that transpired at EKEKO Junction along the Lekki–Ajah Expressway, culminating in the untimely death of a male motorist and the critical injury of his spouse, the statement read.
“Preliminary security briefings reveal that an articulated truck, heavily burdened with granite and travelling at an inordinate speed from the Epe axis, was approaching Eleko Junction when it reportedly experienced a catastrophic brake malfunction.
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“The mechanical failure precipitated an abrupt loss of vehicular control, causing the truck to career off its designated path and collide forcefully with a Toyota saloon car travelling from Ajah inward Epe,” it added.
According to LASTMA, the sheer momentum of the impact caused the truck to topple and crush the smaller vehicle beneath its prodigious weight. Authoritative reports further indicate that the driver of the Toyota saloon car became entrapped within the mangled wreckage.
The LASTMA personnel and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in collaboration with public-spirited bystanders, extricated the victim from the debris, while the victim was tragically pronounced dead at the scene.
Taofiq said the motorist’s wife, who was seated in the front passenger position, sustained life-threatening injuries and was immediately rescued for urgent medical attention. He added that the remains of the deceased and his critically injured spouse were evacuated from the accident locus by an ambulance service deployed by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) for the requisite medical and mortuary procedures.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family, characterising the incident as a deeply distressing and preventable tragedy.
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He further extended earnest prayers for the expeditious and full recuperation of the injured spouse, while reaffirming the Agency’s resolute commitment to the rigorous enforcement of traffic statutes, particularly against reckless driving, mechanical dereliction and egregious violations of established road safety protocols.
In a separate occurrence, a 33,000-litre fuel tanker went into flames at midnight around Ile-Zik inward Magboro along the Lagos–Abeokuta Expressway.
According to Taofiq, the LASTMA Rescue Team, in collaboration with the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, contained the inferno before it could spread.
