LASTMA blames speeding as road crash claims 10

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority has blamed the accident that claimed the lives of 10 people in the Abule Osun area of the state on wrong-way driving and excessive speeding.

The LASTMA spokesperson, Adebayo Taofiq, disclosed this in a telephone conversation with PUNCH Metro on Wednesday.

PUNCH Online had reported earlier on Wednesday that 10 people including three children and seven adults lost their lives to a road crash in the late hours of Tuesday along the Lagos-Badagary Expressway while three others sustained varying degrees of injuries.

According to a Wednesday statement by the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the accident occurred when a Sienna vehicle loaded to capacity rammed into a truck along the road.
He disclosed that the investigation revealed that the Sienna vehicle was on top speed without taking cognisance of the granite-laden truck which had taken a section of the road.

Oke-Osanyintolu had said, “On arrival at the scene of the road traffic accident at Abule Osun, inward Iyana Iba, along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, it was discovered that a Toyota Sienna bus, registration number BDG 342 FS, laden to capacity with passengers from the Eastern part of the country was involved in a road accident with a parked SHACMAN truck, registration number unknown.

“Further investigations revealed that the truck, which was laden with granite, was parked on the road shutting down about half of the carriageway, while the Toyota Sienna on top speed, unknowingly crashed into the parked truck from behind.
“Ten persons lost their lives to the unfortunate incident, while three were critically injured. The dead passengers included three male adults, four female adults, two female children and one male child.”

Reacting to the incident, the LASTMA spokesperson noted that the agency conducted a preliminary investigation into the incident and found that the granite-laden truck was to deliver its content to a construction company located in the area which had led him to park at the entrance of the company while awaiting security clearance.
He added that the Sienna bus driver, upon approaching the section of the road, saw a minibus driving in the wrong way and facing the Sienna bus which the driver tried to avoid a collision by swerving its steering wheel.

Taofiq noted that the force of the swerving coupled with the excessive speed at which the Sienna bus was moving led to a loss of control and eventual collision with the truck.

In his words, “We conducted a preliminary investigation and found that the truck which was to deliver granite to the construction company had stopped for security clearance at the entrance of the company while the driver stepped into the compound.

“Our findings also showed that the Sienna driver had tried to avoid a minibus driving in the wrong direction by swerving its steering. However, the speed at which the driver was moving led to the collision.”

He however noted that a meeting had been held with the management of the construction company on the need to moderate the process of its operations to prevent trucks from delivering materials at the late hours.
Taofiq added that the LASTMA General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, commiserated with the families of the deceased and urged motorists to always exercise caution while driving on Lagos roads.

“We held a meeting with the construction company and let them realise the need to moderate their operations within the daytime so that the movement of trucks into its premises at night will be minimal.”

“The General Manager, Mr Olalekan Bakare-Oki, extends his condolences to the family of the deceased and stressed that the accident is an avoidable one if safety measures were taken.

“He urged motorists to always exercise caution and drive within the regulated speed limits across Lagos roads to avoid similar occurrences,” Taofiq concluded.