A three-year-old boy and three others were killed on Wednesday when a containerised trailer lost its truckhead on Kara Bridge on the Lagos-Ibadan Express way.
The truckhead plunged into the nearby river, while the container fell on a motorcycle on which the boy and her mother were riding. The woman and the motorcyclist are lying critically ill in hospital.
The remaining part of the truck crashed into the road median, causing traffic gridlock for hours. The traffic stretched from Kara to Ogudu on the Third Mainland Bridge.
Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) General Manager Adeshina Tiamiyu said investigation showed that the truck head detached from its body while on motion and rammed into the motorcycle.
He said, “The head of the truck plunged into Isheri Olofin River. Unfortunately, a three-year-old boy on the motorcycle lost his life while his mother had leg fracture and they have been moved to the hospital by Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) officials.
“The head of the truck that plunged into the river was recovered with the aid of a crane with support from the local divers. Three adult male were extricated and recovered from the truck head and handed over to FRSC officials who moved them down to the morgue.”
Tiamiyu said among the responders were the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), Lagos State Fire Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), police and OP Mesa.
He advised motorists, especially articulated truck drivers, to drive within the speed limit and ensure adherence with road safety regulations.
Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) public relations officer Babatunde Akinbiyi said the bodies had been deposited at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH) morgue in Sagamu.
He said, “A container-laden Mark Truck marked NND 133 XA, had a brake failure and rammed into a Bajaj commercial motorcycle with number plate EKY 221 QA, with the head of the truck plunging into the river, while the container it was carrying fell on a woman and the child on the motorcycle.
“We learnt the Okada rider is in the river with the other occupants of the truck, the number of which cannot be ascertained now, as local divers have been contacted for rescue operation.”
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