Garbage truck crushes LAWMA official to death

An official of the Lagos State Waste Management
Authority, identified only as Idowu, was crushed to
death by a waste disposal truck on Tuesday.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the deceased and three
others were in the truck, otherwise known as PSP,
when it skidded off the Egbeda-Idimu Road and fell on
its side.
It was learnt that three of the officials escaped unhurt
but Idowu was not as lucky as the vehicle fell on him
cutting him into two halves.
According to eyewitnesses, the accident was caused
by commercial bus drivers who were driving
recklessly around Car Wash Bus Stop.
An eyewitness, who identified himself only as
Emmanuel, said, "The accident was caused by
commercial bus drivers who stopped to pick
passengers along the road at illegal bus stops
around 7am. The real bus stop is the BRT one, but
many commercial drivers usually ignore it.
"The PSP truck overturned as its driver tried to avoid
ramming into two commercial buses filled with
passengers. The commercial bus drivers were
struggling to overtake each other at the bus stop to
pick passengers.
"The deceased was caught under, with part of his
body, from his chest, cut into half and buried under
the truck."
It was learnt that the buses that allegedly caused the
accident, drove off immediately.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the accident, coupled with
the early morning rush, caused a gridlock which
stretched from the road to the Iyana Ipaja end of the
Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
Many bystanders as well as colleagues of the victim
were seen crying at the scene.
Around 11am, however, two cranes were brought to
move the truck off the deceased's body.
A LAWMA official, Mrs. Aminu-Odukoya, who is also
a field supervisor said Idowu was one of the officials
that collected refuse from residents whenever the
PSP truck stopped at refuse points.
She said the truck had stopped briefly to pick bags of
refuse shortly before the accident occurred.
Mr. Olakunle Agenjo, a LAWMA provost official, said
Car Wash was an illegal bus stop.
He said, "This Car Wash is not a bus stop. This
accident happened around 7am. The PSP truck
stopped to pick refuse and was about to drive away.
A commercial bus parked in its front, picking
passengers, another one parked at the back of the
truck, also picking passengers.
"Suddenly, as the truck was about to continue on its
way, the commercial bus at the back, drove fast and
attempted to overtake the one at the front. But the
one at the front would not allow the driver. In the
confusion, the truck would have run into them, but
it would have led to the death of so many people,
which was why the driver attempted to steer the
truck over the culvert, but the truck overturned and
our man turned with it and he was killed."
Source: punch