COMMERCIAL BUS DRIVER AND THREE OTHERS DIED, 13 PASSENGERS CRITICALLY INJURED IN DEVASTATING TRUCK COLLISION ON ALARO CITY BRIDGE, EPE

COMMERCIAL BUS DRIVER AND THREE OTHERS DIED, 13 PASSENGERS CRITICALLY INJURED IN DEVASTATING TRUCK COLLISION ON ALARO CITY BRIDGE, EPE

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) today responded to a fatal road traffic collision involving a truck and a fully laden commercial bus on Alaro City Bridge, inward T-Junction, Epe, which claimed four lives and left 13 other occupants with critical injuries.

Preliminary accounts indicate that the catastrophic incident occurred when the truck driver violently rammed into the commercial bus while traversing the single-lane bridge, triggering a devastating impact that left several victims ensnared within the mangled wreckage of the vehicles.

The collision resulted in four immediate fatalities, including the commercial bus driver, while 13 other passengers sustained critical injuries. The truck driver also suffered grievous bodily trauma, sustaining the traumatic severance of both legs, which became trapped within the mangled wreckage following the collision.

In a concerted emergency response, LASTMA operatives with support from personnel of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), facilitated the evacuation of the four deceased victims to the mortuary. Simultaneously, the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) swiftly conveyed the 13 critically injured victims to the nearest medical facility for urgent medical attention.

Security personnel from the Epe Police Division provided indispensable security reinforcement throughout the rescue and emergency management operations, ensuring the protection of responding officers and the orderly execution of rescue efforts at the accident scene.

The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr Olalekan Bakare-Oki conveyed his profound condolences to the bereaved families, describing the tragic loss of lives as profoundly distressing.

He expressed heartfelt sympathy to those mourning their loved ones and fervently wished all injured victims a swift and complete recovery.

Bakare-Oki further underscored the imperative of heightened road consciousness, responsible driving practices and scrupulous compliance with established traffic regulations, particularly when navigating bridges, narrow carriageways and other infrastructural bottlenecks where reckless driving can precipitate catastrophic consequences.

Meanwhile, LASTMA personnel deployed to the affected corridor implemented strategic traffic management measures to alleviate the resultant congestion, regulate vehicular movement and progressively restore traffic normalcy. Officers remained actively engaged in mitigating the traffic backlog and facilitating the orderly movement of vehicles along the affected route.

The Authority reiterates its unwavering commitment to the preservation of human lives, the promotion of road safety and the expeditious management of traffic incidents through effective inter-agency collaboration with relevant emergency response and security organisations.

Motorists are consequently urged to exercise the utmost prudence, maintain safe following distances, adhere strictly to prescribed speed limits and eschew dangerous driving manoeuvres, particularly on bridges and constricted roadways where a moment of recklessness may culminate in irreparable loss of human lives.

Adebayo Taofiq

Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA.