A couple narrowly avoided a tragic end on Wednesday evening when a container fell onto their Lexus Jeep at the busy Toyota bus stop along the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway in Lagos.
The Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, confirmed the incident in a statement on Thursday, noting that her team received a distress call at 6:35 p.m. and promptly arrived at the scene to rescue the victims.
According to eyewitnesses, the container fell off a moving Mack trailer, landing on the rear of the Lexus Jeep, which was also in motion. Sympathizers initially rushed to help, and firefighters later joined forces to safely extricate the couple from the wreckage.
“A male adult of about 45 years and a female adult of about 37 years (names withheld) were rescued from the jaws of death by the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service. The accident involved a Lexus Jeep 350 with registration number EKY 251 HW and a Mack Trailer with registration number BDG 513 XW carrying two 20-foot containers,” Adeseye stated.
The victims, along with the trailer driver, who also escaped unscathed, were provided trauma therapy to ensure their well-being.
The accident caused a significant traffic backlog, but prompt intervention by the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and the Nigeria Police from the Ilasamaja Division helped restore order. The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) cleared the wreckage to reopen the highway.
This near-tragic incident has reignited calls for stricter regulations on container-laden trailers to prevent future occurrences of such accidents on Lagos roads.
