Dispatch Rider Dies In Lagos Truck Collision
A dispatch rider has died in a road accident involving a containerised articulated truck along the Ilupeju Bypass area of Lagos State.
The incident occurred barely 24 hours after another dispatch rider was reportedly killed by a hit-and-run driver along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
According to the spokesperson for the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Adebayo Taofiq, the latest accident happened after the rider allegedly struggled for right of way with a commercial minibus, popularly known as “Korope.”
Taofiq said preliminary investigations revealed that the rider lost control of the motorcycle during the encounter before crashing into a moving articulated trailer along the busy Ilupeju corridor.
“The severe impact of the collision resulted in fatal injuries, culminating in the instantaneous death of the rider at the scene,” he stated.
He explained that LASTMA officials monitoring traffic around the Mushin axis quickly responded after receiving distress calls and immediately commenced rescue and traffic management operations.
According to him, operatives recovered the victim’s remains from beneath the trailer while working with other emergency responders to ease traffic congestion caused by the accident.
Taofiq added that officials of the State Environmental Health Management Unit evacuated the corpse from the scene, while the damaged motorcycle and the truck were handed over to the Nigeria Police Force for further investigation.
Reacting to the incident, the General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, sympathised with the family of the deceased and urged motorists, especially articulated vehicle operators and dispatch riders, to obey traffic regulations and avoid reckless competition for road space.
Bakare-Oki noted that the agency had recently organised stakeholder engagements with courier and dispatch riders to promote safety consciousness and compliance with government-approved speed limits and traffic laws.
Earlier on Wednesday, another dispatch rider reportedly lost his life after being hit by a wrong-way driver at the Magboro Bridge section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Witnesses said the driver fled the scene after the collision.
