Woman falls off commercial bus in Lagos, crushed by speeding truck as 6 others sustain varying degree of injuries
A fatal lone accident, over the weekend, claimed the life of one person, and left six others with a varying degree of injuries.
All the victims were on board a commercial Volkswagen bus, with registration number LSD 654 XY, which veered off course and violently rammed into a roadside culvert at New Castle Bus Stop, inward Gbagada on the Oworonsoki-Apapa Expressway in Lagos.
Sadly, according to the Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Adebayo Taofiq, the impact of the collision forcefully flung seven passengers of the bus onto the ever-busy road, one of whom, a female, who was crushed to death by oncoming truck.
”In a tragic turn of events, an oncoming articulated trailer, approaching the scene, was unable to forestall the sudden occurrence and consequently ran over a female passenger, who had fallen on the roadway, resulting in her immediate death,” Adebayo disclosed in a statement.
The other six victims, including the driver, seriously injured with multiple fractures, the statement added, were swiftly evacuated by officials of the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) and conveyed to a nearby medical facility for immediate treatment.
Ironically, the articulated trailer driver that crushed the deceased sped off non-stop.
LASTMA operatives, monitoring vehicular movements around the Gbagada axis,
swiftly activated a comprehensive emergency traffic management protocol around the accident corridor to safeguard other motorists and forestall the possibility of a secondary crash.
The operatives were said to had cordoned off the entire Expressway, enabling the seamless evacuation of the deceased, the six injured passengers and the wreckage of the accident vehicle, while policemen from Pedro Division also arrived at the scene and provided vital security reinforcement for traffic management officials and emergency responders in maintaining orderliness around the accident vicinity.
Similarly, personnel of the Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit (SEHMU) evacuated the remains of the deceased female passenger from the accident scene.
”Following the successful evacuation exercise, LASTMA operatives meticulously cleared all obstructions along the corridor and subsequently restored normal vehicular movement on the main carriageway of the Expressway,” the LASTMA spokesman said.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki conveyed his profound condolences to the bereaved family of the deceased passenger, praying that Almighty God grants them the fortitude to bear the painful and irreparable loss.
He also extended heartfelt wishes for the swift and full recovery of the six injured passengers currently receiving medical attention.
The General Manager further reaffirmed the Authority’s unwavering commitment to sustained on-going public enlightenment campaigns aimed at promoting road safety consciousness across the state.
He emphasized the imperative responsibility of vehicle owners and commercial transport operators to ensure that their vehicles remain in optimal mechanical condition, particularly the braking system, before embarking on any journey within or outside Lagos State.
According to him, “strict adherence to routine vehicle maintenance remains an indispensable safeguard against preventable road traffic accidents and a critical measure for the preservation of human lives on our highways.”
