Waste disposal compactor falls off Lagos bridge, kills tricycle rider

A rider was killed on Tuesday when the compactor of a waste disposal truck fell off a bridge in Lagos state and landed on the victim’s tricycle.

The waste truck, owned by the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), was reportedly driving through the Shitta bridge in the Surulere area of the state when it developed a mechanical fault while in motion.

In a statement on Wednesday, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, LAWMA’s permanent secretary,  said the truck’s compactor fell off the side of the bridge and landed on a commercial mini-bus and the tricycle, killing the tri-cyclist on impact.

“The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, received a distress call through the Toll-Free Emergency numbers 767/112, at 2215hrs yesterday night,” the statement reads.

“The Agency activated the State’s Emergency Response Plans with Emergency Response Teams responding from Onipan, followed with necessary equipment from Cappa Base, the hub of LASEMA heavy-duty equipment in a 5-minute record time, at 2220hrs.

“It was observed that a LAWMA PSP compactor truck was involved in a multiple accident when it reportedly suffered mechanical error (disengaged propeller), lost control and crashed into a Kia Rio Saloon car, registration number unknown, on Shitta bridge.

“Further information gathered at the incident scene was that the compactor thereafter crashed down the side of the bridge onto a seven-passenger mini-bus (Korope) and a tricycle (Keke Marwa), killing the tri-cyclist instantly on impact.”