Four injured as container truck crashes into vehicles

The General Manager, LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki.

Four persons, including three men and a woman, sustained critical injuries after a Mack truck laden with a 40-foot container crashed into several vehicles and nine commercial motorcycles at First Gate, Mile 2 area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the crash occurred on Tuesday after the truck, which was reportedly affected by brake failure, lost control and rammed into another truck carrying a 20-foot container, a T4 commercial bus with registration number AAA 723 YF and nine commercial motorcyclists.

The injured victims reportedly sustained multiple fractures to their arms and legs in the crash.

The incident triggered an immediate rescue operation by operatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, who were conducting traffic management operations in the area.

According to a statement by the Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq, preliminary findings indicated that the crash was caused by an apparent brake failure on the Mack truck.

The statement read, “Security preliminary findings indicate that the collision was precipitated by an apparent brake failure suffered by the Mack truck, resulting in a loss of braking control and a subsequent violent impact with the 20-foot container, commercial bus and the nine commercial motorcyclists in a devastating chain-reaction collision.”

LASTMA officials reportedly rescued the injured victims from the scene and handed them over to policemen from the Roro Police Division, who took them to a nearby hospital for urgent medical attention.

The agency’s operatives also managed traffic around the scene and facilitated the removal of the damaged vehicles and other obstructions to restore normal vehicular movement.

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The driver of the Mack truck and other drivers involved in the crash were handed over to the police for investigation and possible prosecution, depending on the outcome of the investigation.

The General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, sympathised with the victims and their families and urged motorists and commercial transport operators to ensure that their vehicles were mechanically fit before embarking on journeys.

Bakare-Oki also expressed concern over the continued operation of commercial motorcycles on restricted highways, noting that their vulnerability around articulated vehicles could worsen the consequences of road crashes.

He particularly urged operators of articulated vehicles to pay attention to their braking systems, tyres, steering mechanisms and other safety-critical components.

“Mechanical roadworthiness is not merely a regulatory requirement; it is an indispensable safeguard for the preservation of human lives,” he said.