It was just another bustling Saturday morning in Agege—hawkers calling out prices, commuters rushing to their destinations, and the usual Lagos symphony of honking horns and revving engines. But in a split second, chaos erupted. A fully loaded truck, barreling down the Old Abeokuta Road, lost control at the Pen Cinema Bridge, flipped over the edge, and came crashing down like a scene from an action movie—except this was horrifyingly real. Below, two commercial buses, unsuspecting and stationary, bore the full brunt of the impact, crushed under the weight of the falling metal giant.
Eyewitnesses described the moment as something out of a nightmare. “One second, everything was normal. The next, there was a loud bang, screams, and then dust everywhere,” said a shaken trader who narrowly avoided the disaster. The truck, registered as GGE 624 YJ, had been navigating the bridge when the driver, for reasons still under investigation, lost control. The result? A mangled wreck of twisted metal, shattered glass, and two buses reduced to scrap. Miraculously, no passengers were in the buses at the time, but the truck driver wasn’t so lucky—he suffered severe fractures on both hands and had to be urgently rescued by LASTMA officials before being rushed to General Hospital, Ile-Epo.
Emergency responders—LASTMA, FRSC, and LASEMA—swarmed the scene like a well-rehearsed disaster unit, cordoning off the area, diverting traffic, and clearing the wreckage with precision. But beyond the immediate response, this accident raises urgent questions. How many more near-misses must Lagos endure before stricter measures are enforced for heavy-duty vehicles? With the rainy season setting in, slippery roads and poor visibility will only increase the risks.
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LASTMA’s General Manager, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, didn’t mince words: “This could have been much worse. Truck drivers must exercise extreme caution—especially now.” But is caution enough? Or does Lagos need a complete overhaul of bridge safety protocols, stricter penalties for reckless truck operators, and better road maintenance?
For now, the wreckage has been cleared, traffic has resumed, and life in Agege goes on. But the memory of that falling truck—and the sheer luck that prevented more casualties—will linger. One thing is certain: Lagosians are tired of close calls. How many more warnings will it take before real change happens?
