Operatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) on Sunday rescued an injured driver and a motor boy from an empty articulated 40ft flatbed truck that fell off from the bridge by Ijora Olopa inward Apapa area of the state.
In a statement, the spokesperson for the Agency, Adebayo Taofiq said the incident occurred as a result of overspeeding while the truck was ascending the bridge.
According to him, LASTMA personnel rescued the driver in a pool of blood gushing out from his head while his assistant sustained a serious waist fracture by his spinal cord.
He said, “A preliminary investigation revealed that the driver of the articulated 40ft empty flatbed truck lost total control due to brake failure while struggling a ‘Right of Way’ (R.O.W) with another fully loaded truck trying to climb the High Bridge inward Apapa.
“Immediately the unfortunate incident happened other articulated truck drivers around ‘Sifax’ Company supported LASTMA personnel and rescued both the driver and motor boy who were trapped under the truck.
“LASTMA Goriola Jimoh ‘Zebra’ (Zone 22) Apapa who led the rescue operations confirmed that the rescued injured driver and his motor boy were rushed to the General Hospital at Apapa for immediate medical treatment”.
Adebayo noted further that the crashed articulated truck was evacuated by officials of the LASEMA Response Unit while LASTMA personnel handed over the case to policemen from Ijora-Badia Police Station for further investigation.
“The General Manager of LASTMA Mr. Bakare Oki, however, appealed to owners of articulated trucks to always carry out periodic safety training and enlightenment campaigns for their drivers on the need to obey road signs speed limit while driving on highways within and outside the state”, he added.
