A family of three including a father, mother and their young child died early Wednesday in a multi-vehicle crash on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) reported.
Two other victims sustained critical injuries in the crash.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday by LASTMA’s Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment, Adebayo Taofiq, the accident occurred in the early hours near Secretariat, inward Otedola Bridge.
The statement read, “The tragic accident instantly claimed the lives of three members of the same family: father, mother and their young child, while two other victims sustained critical injuries, underscoring the devastating consequences of reckless vehicular conduct.”
The crash involved three vehicles — an Audi, a Toyota Camry and a Toyota Corolla — after a heavily loaded truck, reportedly speeding, rammed into one of the cars from behind.
“The impact caused the vehicle to lose control, colliding with two additional moving vehicles, thereby triggering the fatal chain-reaction accident.
“In a disturbing development, the truck driver absconded immediately from the scene with his vehicle, leaving the victims in peril and evading accountability for the fatal incident,” the statement added.
LASTMA stated its operatives, in collaboration with the Lagos State Ambulance Service, rescued the two critically injured victims from the wreckage and rushed them to the Lagos State Emergency and Trauma Centre, Toll-Gate, for urgent medical care.
The three deceased were recovered and handed over to the Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit.
Security personnel from the Isheri Olowora Police Division and other agencies, including the Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, and Lagos Fire & Rescue Service, supported the rescue operation.
LASTMA General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, described the loss as “unbearable and irreplaceable” and urged motorists especially those driving heavily loaded trucks, to avoid reckless driving and speeding.
He commended the coordinated response of all emergency agencies involved.
