Truck kills pedestrian, motorcyclist in Lagos-Badagry expressway crash

A pedestrian and a motorcyclist have been killed in a fatal crash involving a truck along the Badagry Expressway in Lagos State.

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority confirmed the incident in a statement released on Sunday, signed by its Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, Adebayo Taofiq, saying it occurred at the Iyana-Iba Flyover inward the main gate of Lagos State University.

According to the agency, preliminary findings showed the “heavily-loaded bucket truck was reportedly travelling at top speed from Volkswagen inward Badagry” when it first hit and killed an innocent pedestrian.

LASTMA said the driver did not stop after the initial impact, stating that “rather than bringing the vehicle to an immediate halt after the initial impact, the truck driver recklessly continued his movement along the corridor.”

The agency explained that the situation escalated when a motorcyclist attempted to intervene, noting that the rider, “accompanied by another sympathiser, pursued the truck with the intention of compelling the driver to stop and face the consequences of his actions.”

However, LASTMA said the pursuit ended in further tragedy as “in a shocking turn of events, the truck driver rammed violently into the motorcycle during the pursuit, resulting in the instantaneous death of the motorcyclist,” while the accompanying sympathiser escaped unhurt.

Operatives of LASTMA’s Night Gang Surveillance and Monitoring Patrol Team, according to the statement, arrived at the scene and carried out evacuation operations, describing how they “undertook the painstaking evacuation of the deceased motorcyclist whose body had become trapped beneath the front wheel tyre of the bucket truck.”

The agency confirmed that the driver was arrested on the spot and handed over to security operatives at the PPL Police Post, Okokomaiko, alongside officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps for investigation.

It added that the remains of the motorcyclist were evacuated by FRSC officials, while the pedestrian who was killed earlier was released to his family after they were notified of the incident.

LASTMA also disclosed that both the truck and the damaged motorcycle were moved to the police post pending further investigation.

Reacting to the incident, LASTMA General Manager, Mr Olalekan Bakare-Oki, expressed grief, describing it as “a painful reminder of the grave consequences of reckless driving,” especially among truck operators.

He warned drivers against speeding and disregard for traffic rules, stating that road users must “always comply strictly with regulated speed limits and exercise utmost caution, both during daytime and nocturnal operations.”

Bakare-Oki also reaffirmed that LASTMA would continue its enforcement operations, stressing its “unwavering commitment towards sustaining aggressive surveillance, traffic enforcement and emergency rescue interventions” across Lagos roads.