A yet-to-be-identified driver lost his life on Sunday afternoon when a 40-foot container-laden truck toppled onto a commercial Nissan Micra taxi at the Soka area along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, Oyo State.
The fatal crash, which occurred around 2 p.m., involved a trailer loaded with bales of clothing and a Micra taxi bearing registration number BDJ 981 ZY. The impact crushed the car, trapping the driver inside.
Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Nigeria Police, and the Oyo State Traffic Management Authority (OYTMA) were seen working to recover the victim’s body and clear the wreckage.
The vehicle was pinned beneath the rear section of the truck, while rescuers struggled to cut through the mangled metal with machetes to reach the deceased.
An eyewitness identified simply as Yusuf blamed the incident on concrete barricades left on the road by contractors after completing repairs in the area.
He said, “The accident happened around 2 p.m. while it was raining. The trailer was coming from Lagos inward Ibadan. The driver tried to dodge the big concrete barriers still left on the road from construction work. In the process, he hit the Micra. As he tried to regain balance, the truck overturned and fell on the car. Those barriers should have been removed long ago.”
A Federal Road Safety Corps officer at the scene, who requested anonymity, confirmed the account.
“This is how we met the scene. From our observation, the truck swerved to avoid the barrier, hit the Micra, dragged it off the road, and then fell on it,” he said.
Speaking on the incident, OYTMA General Manager, Adeoye Adekola, confirmed the driver’s death.
“I just left the scene. The body has been taken to Adeoyo Hospital, Ring Road. The container, loaded with clothes, is still at the site, but we’ve detached the truck and moved it to Sanyo Police Station,” he said.
Adekola identified impatience, speeding, and the lack of reflectors on the construction barriers as key factors behind the accident.
“There were two main causes — speeding and impatience by drivers, as well as the absence of reflectors on those barriers. Before the truck driver saw the barrier, it was already too late. He swerved to avoid it but collided with a Micra that had stopped to pick a passenger. The truck overturned and crushed the Micra. The driver, who was alone, died instantly. The road has since been cleared and traffic is now moving smoothly,” he added.
The incident caused hours-long traffic congestion along the busy expressway before normalcy was restored.
Sunday’s crash is the latest in a string of fatal accidents at the Soka junction of the Ibadan Expressway. In June, five people died and several others were injured in a multiple collision involving seven vehicles — including two Micra taxis, two trucks, a tanker, and two Toyota Camry cars — at the same location.
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Barely a week later, another driver died after ramming into a stationary trailer left behind from the earlier crash.
