Three students of the Lagos State University of Science and Technology have died, while seven others sustained varying degrees of injuries in a multi-vehicle collision along the Powerline Junction, inward Ikorodu Roundabout area of Lagos State.
The spokesperson for the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Adebayo Taofiq, confirmed the incident in a statement made available to our correspondent on Saturday.
Taofiq said the accident occurred after the driver of a sand-laden truck lost control due to brake failure and rammed into other vehicles along the busy corridor.
According to him, the impact of the collision resulted in a devastating loss of lives, while several others were critically injured.
He said, “In an incident of profound tragedy that cast a pall of grief over the Ikorodu metropolis, three promising students of the Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Ikorodu, two males and one female, lost their lives instantaneously in a fatal multiple-vehicle collision that occurred earlier today at Powerline Junction, before Aleje, inward Ikorodu Roundabout.
“Seven others, including tricycle operators, sustained grievous injuries in the horrifying crash. The catastrophic accident involved a tipper truck heavily laden with sand (unregistered), a Toyota Corolla (SMK 42 AJ), an MPV bus, and four tricycles.
“Preliminary investigations by traffic operatives revealed that the tipper, which was travelling at an excessive speed, suffered mechanical brake failure, causing the driver to lose control. The runaway vehicle careened into other road users, colliding forcefully with multiple vehicles and tricycles in its path, leading to devastating wreckage and loss of lives.”
Taofiq added that emergency responders, including officials of LASTMA, the Federal Road Safety Corps, and the Police, rescued the injured victims and took them to a nearby hospital.
“Together, they swiftly conveyed seven critically injured victims to nearby medical facilities for urgent treatment, while the three deceased casualties were evacuated and deposited at the General Hospital, Ikorodu mortuary.
“Following the evacuation, all wrecked vehicles were cleared from the accident scene by LASTMA personnel to restore order and ensure free traffic flow along the corridor,” he stated.
Reacting to the incident, the General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, commiserated with the families of the deceased students and wished the injured victims a speedy recovery.
Bakare-Oki, according to Taofiq, described the tragedy as avoidable, lamenting the recurring menace of recklessness, overspeeding, and poor vehicle maintenance, especially defective braking systems, as persistent causes of fatal road crashes across the state.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Lagos State University of Science and Technology spokesperson, Lanre Kuye, were unsuccessful as he had yet to respond to calls and messages as of the time of filing this report.
PUNCH Online reported a similar incident on Friday when a truck lost control along the Otedola Bridge section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, causing injuries to eight people.
