A tragic accident involving a truck has claimed the lives of a pedestrian and a motorcyclist along the Badagry Expressway in Lagos State.
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, Adebayo Taofiq.
According to the agency, the crash occurred around the Iyana-Iba Flyover heading toward the main gate of Lagos State University.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the truck, described as a heavily loaded bucket vehicle, was speeding from the Volkswagen area toward Badagry when it struck a pedestrian.
The agency stated that the driver failed to stop after the collision.
“The heavily-loaded bucket truck was reportedly travelling at top speed from Volkswagen inward Badagry,” LASTMA said.
“Rather than bringing the vehicle to an immediate halt after the initial impact, the truck driver recklessly continued his movement along the corridor.”
According to the statement, a motorcyclist, alongside another individual, attempted to chase down the truck driver in a bid to stop him from fleeing.
The situation, however, turned fatal during the pursuit.
“The rider, accompanied by another sympathiser, pursued the truck with the intention of compelling the driver to stop and face the consequences of his actions,” the agency explained.
LASTMA disclosed that the truck later crashed into the motorcycle, killing the rider instantly, while the second person escaped unharmed.
“In a shocking turn of events, the truck driver rammed violently into the motorcycle during the pursuit, resulting in the instantaneous death of the motorcyclist,” the statement added.
Officials of LASTMA’s Night Gang Surveillance and Monitoring Patrol Team later arrived at the scene to remove the victims and clear the road.
The agency said operatives “undertook the painstaking evacuation of the deceased motorcyclist whose body had become trapped beneath the front wheel tyre of the bucket truck.”
Authorities confirmed that the truck driver was arrested immediately and handed over to security personnel at the PPL Police Post in Okokomaiko, alongside officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps for further investigation.
The remains of the deceased motorcyclist were evacuated by FRSC officials, while the pedestrian’s body was later released to family members after they were informed of the incident.
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Reacting to the development, LASTMA General Manager Olalekan Bakare-Oki described the crash as “a painful reminder of the grave consequences of reckless driving,” especially by truck drivers.
He urged motorists to obey traffic regulations and avoid excessive speeding.
Road users, he said, must “always comply strictly with regulated speed limits and exercise utmost caution, both during daytime and nocturnal operations.”
Bakare-Oki also reaffirmed LASTMA’s commitment to enforcing traffic safety measures across the state through “aggressive surveillance, traffic enforcement and emergency rescue interventions.”