A truck assistant was on Wednesday night crushed to death in the Ogolonto area of Ikorodu, Lagos State, after he slipped while attempting to place a wooden plank under the tyres of a moving truck with failed brakes.
Officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, who were on a night patrol of the corridor, apprehended the driver and handed him over to the police.
The LASTMA Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment, Adebayo Taofiq, disclosed the incident in a statement on Thursday, noting that the tragedy occurred at the Ogolonto Traffic Light Intersection, inward the Ikorodu Roundabout.
According to him, preliminary investigations revealed that the motorboy had alighted from the moving, heavily loaded truck after its brake system malfunctioned.
He reportedly attempted to slow the vehicle by placing a wooden plank beneath its tyres.
“In the course of this effort, the unfortunate motor boy slipped and fell beneath the rear tyres, which ran over him, resulting in his instantaneous death,” Taofiq said.
He added that LASTMA officers swiftly cordoned off the area to prevent further accidents, while operatives of the Ipakodo Police Division were invited to take over the case.
The body of the deceased was later deposited at the Ikorodu General Hospital.
The LASTMA General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, who commiserated with the family of the victim, described the accident as avoidable.
He blamed the incident on poor vehicle maintenance and mechanical negligence, warning that such lapses endanger the lives of both operators and other road users.
Bakare-Oki reaffirmed the Lagos State Government’s commitment to enforcing road safety rules and strengthening collaboration with security agencies to maintain order on highways.
The incident adds to a series of fatal truck-related accidents recently reported by PUNCH Metro.
Last Monday, a cement truck crushed a minor to death and injured three others along the Ilaro–Ibese Expressway in Ogun State.
On October 4, five persons were also killed when a truck rammed into a tricycle in the Papalanto–Ilaro area of the same state.