CITIZENS COMPASS—A DAF articulated truck has reportedly crushed a cyclist to death in Lagos State.
The accident occurred in the morning, beneath the bridge of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), at the traffic signal corridor, inward Airport Road, Ikeja.
Spokesperson, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Taofik Adebayo, confirmed this in his update.
According to the LASTMA Spokesperson: The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has formally confirmed a heart-rending and fatal road traffic occurrence beneath the LASUTH Bridge at the traffic signal corridor inward Airport Road, Ikeja, involving a DAF articulated truck and an unsuspecting cyclist.
Preliminary security findings reveal that the tragic episode unfolded as both the cyclist and the heavy-duty truck advancing from the Maryland axis, simultaneously attempted to negotiate the roundabout underneath the bridge.
In the course of this perilous convergence, the cyclist was reportedly unable to maintain a safe clearance from the moving truck. Within a matter of moments, the situation escalated disastrously, resulting in the cyclist being violently crushed and succumbing to fatal injuries on the spot.
LASTMA operatives who were actively deployed to regulate and control vehicular movement at the location responded with exemplary alacrity. Their prompt and decisive action culminated in the immediate apprehension of the truck driver, who had attempted to abscond from the scene to evade culpability. The suspect was thereafter handed over to security personnel from the Ikeja Police Division for thorough investigation and prosecution in line with extant laws.
In order to avert secondary accidents and swiftly restore traffic normalcy, officials of the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit (SHEMU) were urgently summoned to evacuate the remains of the deceased cyclist from the carriageway, thereby ensuring public safety and operational orderliness at the scene.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Hon. Sola Giwa, expressed deep sorrow over the needless and irreplaceable loss of life, while extending his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.
He offered prayers that Almighty God grants the family the fortitude, resilience and divine comfort required to endure the profound grief occasioned by the tragedy.
Hon. Giwa further utilized the sombre moment to issue a firm caution to cyclists and commercial motorbike riders, admonishing them to exercise heightened circumspection and to place utmost priority on their personal safety while navigating Lagos roads.
He reiterated that cyclists must strictly comply with traffic regulations and refrain from plying expressways, highways, and other major arterial routes where their exposure to danger is considerably amplified.
According to him, “The Lagos State Government has over time, sustained intensive sensitisation initiatives through public jingles and documentary campaigns aimed at enlightening cyclists and other vulnerable road users on the necessity of confining their movements to inner roads, away from highways and high-risk corridors. This safety directive equally applies to skateboard users and other non-motorized conveyances.”
The Lagos State Government, through LASTMA, once again reaffirms its unwavering commitment to rigorous road safety enforcement, sustained public enlightenment and the protection of all categories of road users, while urging motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians to conduct themselves responsibly and strictly within the confines of traffic laws in order to forestall avoidable tragedies.
