A motorist lost his life on Thursday morning, while his wife sustained critical injuries, after a granite-laden truck overturned onto their Toyota saloon car at Eleko Junction along the Lekki–Ajah Expressway, Lagos State.
This incident was disclosed in a statement signed by the Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq.
“Preliminary security briefings reveal that an articulated truck, heavily burdened with granite and traveling at an inordinate speed from the Epe axis, was approaching Eleko Junction when it reportedly experienced a catastrophic brake malfunction.
“The mechanical failure precipitated an abrupt loss of vehicular control, causing the truck to career off its designated path and collide forcefully with a Toyota saloon car travelling from Ajah inward Epe,” the statement partly read.
According to the agency, the force of the collision caused the truck to overturn onto the smaller vehicle, leaving the driver trapped inside the wreckage.
Officials of LASTMA and the Federal Road Safety Corps, assisted by bystanders, reportedly rescued the victims. However, the man was confirmed dead at the scene, while his wife, who sustained life-threatening injuries, was rushed to a medical facility for urgent medical attention.
LASTMA added that the truck driver fled the scene immediately after the accident, while operatives from the Akodo Police Division secured the area during the rescue operation.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, described the incident as avoidable, urging motorists and truck drivers to prioritize proper vehicle maintenance, and cautioned against reckless driving.
