A fully-laden truck with registration number: GGE 624 YJ, fell off the Pen Cinema bridge in Lagos State on Saturday, leaving the driver severely injured.
A statement by the Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Adebayo Taofiq, said the accident occurred earlier in the day along Agege, Old Abeokuta Road, around the bridge.
According to him, preliminary inquiries suggested that the truck driver, who suffered grievous fractures to both hands, lost control of the vehicle while navigating the bridge.
Consequently, the truck plunged from the bridge, landing upon the two commercial buses stationed beneath.
LASTMA officers, responding to the incident, extricated the severely injured driver and immediately entrusted him to officers of the Elere Police Division.
He was subsequently conveyed to the General Hospital, Ile-Epo, for urgent medical intervention.
“In a bid to safeguard other road users and forestall secondary incidents, LASTMA personnel swiftly secured the accident site by cordoning off the area and diverting vehicular traffic. Thereafter, operatives of the LASEMA Response Unit expeditiously cleared the wreckage, thereby restoring unimpeded traffic flow along the axis,” the statement added.
Expressing profound concern, the General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, admonished all motorists, particularly truck operators, to exhibit heightened vigilance and circumspection, especially with the onset of the rainy season.
He further underscored the imperative of strict compliance with extant road safety protocols, and enjoined drivers to adhere to the newly installed speed-limiting devices, a measure strategically deployed to mitigate accidents and promote collective road safety.
Bakare-Oki also extended heartfelt wishes for the rapid and full recovery of the injured driver.