Three men reportedly sustained injuries when a section of the pedestrian bridge at Alapere, Ketu Estate Gate, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, collapsed after a truck rammed into it in the late hours of Thursday.
The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, confirmed the incident in a chat with City Round on Friday, adding that the necessary authorities were notified and the debris has been cleared off the road.
Giwa said, “The accident occurred at about 11 pm on Thursday. The trucks were about 12 moving inward the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway when it happened.
“Ten of the trucks had successfully maneuvered their way but the 11th one, due to the driver’s impatience to safely pass under the bridge and the height of the container it was carrying, rammed into the bridge and damaged the bridge.”
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, in a statement posted on its official Facebook account on Friday, disclosed that the three injured victims had been rushed to a nearby hospital.
“Consequent upon the arrival of the agency’s response team at the scene, it was discovered that a trailer with registration number ABG-111-XF lade with a 40Ft container crashed into the Alapere pedestrian bridge on high motion as a result of the height of the trailer, which led to the total collapse of the bridge.
“The impact of the collapse crushed a 14-passenger Mazda commercial bus, registration number KJA-752-YD. Fortunately, there is no record of any loss of lives, but three adult male passengers in the commercial bus sustained various degrees of injuries and were quickly transported to a hospital nearby for quick medical attention.
“The LASEMA response team, Lagos State Transportation Management Authority, and the Nigeria Police Force were responders who collaborated to evacuate the crashed columns of the pedestrian bridge and the debris off the road. The road has been restored to normalcy.”
Meanwhile, the acting General Manager of LASTMA, Bakare Oki, who was also at the scene of the accident as a first responder, appealed to road users to exercise patience while driving.
“This is the Yuletide season and we understand that people are often in a haste, but patience is key whenever you’re on the road, not just because of your safety alone but because of the safety of other road users,” he added.
