Three family members were confirmed dead and two other victims, yesterday, sustained injuries following a multi-vehicle collision at the Secretariat towards Otedola Bridge, along Lagos–Ibadan Expressway.
Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) reported that the three family members were a father, mother and their young child.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the incident involving three vehicles (Audi, Toyota Camry & Toyota Corolla) occurred when a heavily loaded truck travelling at excessive speed violently hit 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.
Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq, in a statement, said that the truck driver fled immediately from the scene with his vehicle.
However, LASTMA operatives arrived promptly at the scene and coordinated seamlessly with allied emergency agencies to rescue survivors and recover the deceased.
Two critically injured victims trapped within the wreckage were carefully extricated and conveyed by the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) for urgent medical attention.
The deceased family members, tragically trapped together, were recovered and handed over to the Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit (SEHMU) for immediate evacuation.
The surviving injured victims were rushed to the Lagos State Emergency and Trauma Centre at Toll-Gate to receive comprehensive medical care.
Also, security personnel from the IsheriOlowora Police Division provided vital protection and operational support throughout the rescue operation while LASTMA personnel evacuated the affected vehicles from the main carriageway to avoid a secondary incident.
The multi-agency response also involved coordinated efforts from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), LASAMBUS, SEHMU and the Lagos Fire & Rescue Service, reflecting a unified commitment to life-saving intervention and traffic safety.
General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, expressed profound sorrow over what he described as the “unbearable and irreplaceable loss of an entire family.”
He prayed for divine comfort for the bereaved relatives and urged them to summon fortitude amid their unimaginable grief.
The General Manager, who also extended heartfelt wishes for the swift and complete recovery of the injured victim, commended the rapid and coordinated efforts of all emergency responders at the scene.
Bakare-Oki, while lamenting the preventable nature of the incident, reiterated LASTMA’s warning against reckless speeding, particularly by drivers of articulated and heavily loaded trucks.
He emphasised 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 Lagos residents that LASTMA remains steadfast in enhancing traffic surveillance, enforcing regulations, and collaborating with security and emergency agencies to prevent the recurrence of similar tragedies.
