The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has attributed the death of Lagos State University of Science and Technology students in a Saturday accident to brake failure of a truck.
It was gathered that the incident caused a multi-vehicle collision along Powerline Junction, inward Ikorodu Roundabout, Lagos State.
LASTMA spokesperson Taofiq Adebayo, who confirmed the incident, said the accident also left seven other people with varying degrees of injuries.
According to Adebayo, the crash occurred when the driver of a sand-laden tipper truck lost control due to mechanical brake failure, ramming into other vehicles along the busy corridor.
‘In an incident of profound tragedy that cast a pall of grief over the Ikorodu metropolis, three promising LASUST students — two males and one female — lost their lives instantaneously in a fatal multiple-vehicle collision at Powerline Junction, before Aleje, inward Ikorodu Roundabout’, he said.
Adebayo added that seven others, including tricycle operators, sustained grievous injuries.
He said, ‘The catastrophic accident involved a tipper truck heavily laden with sand (unregistered), a Toyota Corolla (SMK 42 AJ), an MPV bus, and four tricycles. Preliminary investigations revealed that the tipper, travelling at excessive speed, suffered brake failure, causing the driver to lose control and collide with multiple road users, resulting in devastating wreckage and loss of lives.
‘Emergency responders, including LASTMA officials, the Federal Road Safety Corps, and the police, quickly rescued the injured victims and conveyed them to nearby hospitals. The three deceased students were taken to the General Hospital, Ikorodu mortuary. LASTMA personnel cleared the wreckage to restore traffic flow’.
LASTMA General Manager Olalekan Bakare-Oki commiserated with the families of the deceased and wished the injured victims a speedy recovery.
He described the accident as avoidable, blaming reckless driving, overspeeding, and poor vehicle maintenance — particularly defective braking systems — as recurring causes of fatal road crashes across the state.
