A man has died while his wife sustained critical injuries after an articulated truck laden with granite crushed their car at Eleko Junction along the Lekki–Ajah Expressway.
The spokesperson for the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Adebayo Taofiq, disclosed this in a statement, noting that the fatal crash occurred in the early hours of the day.
According to Taofiq, preliminary investigations revealed that the truck, which was travelling at high speed from the Epe axis towards Eleko Junction, suffered brake failure, causing the driver to lose control.
He said the truck veered off its lane and rammed into a Toyota saloon car heading from Ajah towards Epe, before toppling onto the smaller vehicle.
“The mechanical failure precipitated an abrupt loss of vehicular control, causing the truck to stray from its designated path and collide forcefully with a Toyota saloon car travelling from Ajah inward Epe,” Taofiq said.
He added that the impact crushed the car beneath the truck’s weight, trapping the driver inside the wreckage.
“LASTMA officials, in collaboration with operatives of the Federal Road Safety Corps and bystanders, rescued the victims from the mangled vehicle. However, the husband was pronounced dead at the scene.
“His wife, who was seated in the front passenger seat, sustained life-threatening injuries and was rushed to the hospital for urgent medical attention,” he added.
Taofiq noted that the remains of the deceased and the injured woman were evacuated by the Federal Road Safety Corps ambulance team for medical and mortuary procedures.
He further disclosed that the truck driver fled the scene shortly after the crash.
“In a most condemnable abdication of responsibility, the driver of the articulated truck absconded immediately after the incident,” the statement said.
Reacting, the General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, described the incident as a distressing and preventable tragedy, while commiserating with the bereaved family and wishing the injured woman a speedy recovery.
Bakare-Oki reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to enforcing traffic regulations, particularly against reckless driving and poor vehicle maintenance.
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