IBRAHIM QUADRI
Two passengers, one of whom is a police officer, were feared dead on Tuesday during an auto-crash involving an Apple fully laden 40-foot container truck XP 368 AKD and a commercial tricycle ‘korope’ KJA 364 QN along Ijora Causeway, inward Ijora 7Up area of Lagos State.
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) confirmed the tragedy in a statement signed by Adebayo Taofiq, LASTMA Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department.
According to him, the truck, which lost control, overturned upon the tricycle conveying unsuspecting passengers.
He explained that preliminary findings indicate that the articulated vehicle, while attempting a precarious maneuver beneath the Ijora Bridge, lost control and consequently crashed into a tricycle, crushing it and killing two passengers, including a serving police officer, instantly.
The remains of the deceased Police Officer were subsequently conveyed to a morgue at Yaba by security operatives, while grief-stricken relatives of the second victim, a female passenger, hastened to the scene to retrieve the remains of their loved one.
LASTMA operatives, in concert with allied emergency responders, rescued two additional victims, including the tricycle operator, who were extricated alive, though they sustained severe leg fractures.
The injured were transported by the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) to the hospital for urgent medical intervention.
To avert a descent into chaos, combined detachments of security personnel drawn from Badia, Trinity, and Kirikiri Police Divisions established robust security cordons.
The presence of security operatives pacified irate onlookers, who had attempted to set the containerized truck ablaze, and safeguarded the emergency responders throughout the duration of the rescue operations.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, has expressed profound condolences to the bereaved families of the late Police Officer and the deceased female passenger, describing the tragedy as deeply grievous and most regrettable.
He further offered prayers for the swift recuperation of the two surviving victims who remain under intensive medical care.
Mr. Bakare-Oki equally lauded the combined emergency and security agencies for their prompt intervention, commendable professionalism, and proactive measures, which forestalled further fatalities and prevented escalation of the situation.
The Authority hereby reiterates its earnest admonition to truck operators and articulated vehicle drivers to exercise the highest degree of caution, particularly when negotiating bridges, intersections, and densely trafficked corridors, so as to avert the recurrence of such calamity.
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