One dead, five injured as 40-foot container truck crashes in Lagos

One dead, five injured as 40-foot container truck crashes in Lagos

A fatal road accident involving a 40-foot containerised truck claimed the life of a pedestrian and left five others injured along the Cele Expressway, inward Oshodi, in Lagos State, on Saturday.

In a statement via its official X handle on Saturday, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), said the crash involved an articulated truck, five commercial buses, and two private vehicles — a Toyota Camry and a Toyota Sienna.

The statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, LASMA, Adebayo Taofiq, stated that preliminary investigations revealed that the truck, laden with two large containers, suffered a brake failure while in motion at high speed.

He explained that the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, leading to the detachment of the containers, which crashed onto several nearby vehicles.

A pedestrian was killed instantly, while five others sustained varying degrees of injuries. One of the injured, a commercial bus driver, suffered compound fractures in both his arm and leg.

Emergency responders from the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) rushed the injured victims to the General Hospital in Isolo for urgent treatment.

In the aftermath of the crash, LASTMA officers, in collaboration with personnel from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and concerned residents, swiftly conducted rescue operations.

The Ijesha-Tedo Police Division also deployed officers to maintain order at the scene.

The main carriageway of the expressway was cordoned off to allow recovery operations, with traffic redirected to the service lane to ease congestion.

“The recovery and evacuation of the fallen containers, trucks, and affected vehicles are ongoing. Safety measures have been activated, and our officers are on the ground managing traffic,” LASTMA said.

LASTMA’s General Manager, Olalekan BaMre-Oki, in a separate statement, offered his condolences to the family of the deceased and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

He stressed the importance of regular mechanical checks on articulated trucks, especially those carrying heavy cargo.

“The safety of all road users is paramount. We cannot continue to lose lives to preventable incidents caused by vehicle negligence and reckless driving,” Mr Bakare-Oki said.

He added that a full investigation was underway to ascertain the cause of the accident and ensure appropriate accountability.