Officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) rescued three traffic accident victims trapped under a truck in a multiple collision that occurred in the Obanikoro area of Lagos State on Saturday.

In a statement posted on its X account in the late hours of Saturday, the traffic control authority stated that the crash occurred due to a container-laden truck’s brake failure.

Images of the scene of the crash showed that a smaller car slid beneath the haulage vehicle. Behind the car was another damaged car.

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While the victims had been taken to a nearby hospital by their families for treatment, the statement provided no details on the extent of the injuries suffered by each of them and whether they were responding to treatment.

“Operatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) today rescued 3 accident victims in a multiple accident at Anthony inward Obanikoro area of Lagos,” Adebayo Taofiq, LASTMA’s Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment unit, stated.

Lawal Hammed Babatunde from Zone 11 Anthony, the leader of the rescue team, said that the multiple accident involved a 40ft container, 2 Toyota Camry cars with number plates KRD 432 JA and APP 43 HN respectively, and a tipper loaded with sand with registration number T 17001LA.

Babatunde confirmed that the three victims were trapped under the truck.

“According to a preliminary investigation, the 40ft container truck while on a top speed collided with 3 other vehicles including a tipper fully loaded with sand as a result of brake failure,” Babatunde said.

The nature of the accident was described as an underride road traffic crash, where a smaller car runs under a truck either from the back or by the side.

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FIJ had earlier reported how a rear and a side protective guard could prevent loss of lives in underride road crashes occurring frequently on the country’s highways.

In the investigation, FIJ found that the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has a regulation in place mandating truckers and fleet companies to attach under-run protective devices to their trucks.

The FRSC has, however, failed to enforce the policy despite the frequency of deaths recorded via such crashes.