Two persons have lost their lives after two fully-loaded 40-foot container trucks rammed into each other along the Cele inward axis of the Oshodi–Apapa Expressway, Mile 2, Lagos, on Thursday.
The fatal crash, which occurred on one of Lagos’ busiest freight corridors, claimed the lives of the driver of the moving truck and his assistant, popularly known as a “motor boy,” after one truck ploughed into another stationary container truck from behind at excessive speed.
Confirming the incident, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority identified one of the deceased as the driver of truck marked T-392 LA, while the second victim was recovered from beneath one of the vehicles following an extensive search operation.
LASTMA’s Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment, Adebayo Taofiq, disclosed in a statement that the driver had been severely trapped inside the steering compartment of his truck, necessitating a painstaking extrication exercise by the agency’s Rescue and Recovery Team.
“The second deceased was carefully retrieved from beneath one of the trucks following an intensive search and recovery operation conducted under strict safety protocols,” the statement read.
Similarly, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency confirmed the fatalities, with its Permanent Secretary, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, disclosing that preliminary investigations pointed to excessive speed as the remote cause of the collision.
“One of the containerised trucks rammed into another stationary 40-foot containerised truck from behind due to excessive speed.
“The impact of the collision resulted in the driver of the moving truck and his motor boy being trapped inside the truck cabin. Despite ongoing rescue and recovery efforts, both victims were confirmed dead at the scene,” Oke-Osanyintolu stated.
He added that recovery operations were ongoing to evacuate the affected trucks and restore normal traffic flow along the strategic corridor, while traffic control measures had been activated to prevent secondary incidents.
The joint rescue operation involved personnel from LASTMA, LASEMA, the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit and officers of the Ilasa Police Division, who maintained perimeter security and preserved evidence at the scene.
LASTMA subsequently handed over the incident to the Ilasa Division for a comprehensive investigation.
LASTMA General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, condoled with the families of the victims while calling on operators of articulated vehicles to embrace disciplined driving, adhere strictly to speed limits and comply with all extant traffic regulations.
Bakare-Oki specifically warned that night-time freight operations demanded heightened alertness and the deployment of adequate warning devices to forestall avoidable tragedies.
Thursday’s crash comes barely 48 hours after a separate truck tragedy on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, where six persons were killed after a brake-failed truck rammed into two vehicles and bystanders at the Old Toll-Gate axis of the expressway.
