•Scene of the accident at PWD, Lagos
A 55-year-old man escaped unhurt after a moving train collided with his Honda car at the PWD railway line in Lagos, leaving the vehicle extensively damaged and disrupting traffic in the area.
This was confirmed by the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), which detailed that the train was travelling towards Agege when it collided with the car, with registration number EKY 902 JT.
In a statement signed today by its Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment, Adebayo Taofiq, the agency said the vehicle was virtually a complete write-off.
“Notwithstanding the severity of the impact and the considerable destruction sustained by the vehicle, the motorist miraculously escaped without any reported injury, with no casualty recorded at the scene,” the statement said.
An earlier traffic update issued at 7:20am reported that onlookers had pushed the car off the tracks, while officers managed traffic and emergency responders attended to the incident.
LASTMA said its operatives and security personnel rescued the driver and facilitated the removal of the damaged vehicle from the railway track.
“Their timely and coordinated intervention was instrumental in clearing the obstruction and enabling the train to resume its journey towards Agege,” the agency said.
However, traffic congestion persisted around the PWD axis after the tracks were cleared.
“Despite the successful removal of the wrecked automobile from the railway track, vehicular movement around the PWD axis remains severely impeded,” the statement added.
The wrecked car was subsequently handed over to security personnel for investigation into the cause of the collision.
LASTMA General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, commended the coordinated response of the personnel involved and stressed the importance of prompt intervention and cooperation during transport emergencies.
He urged motorists to exercise caution when approaching railway crossings and warned against attempting to cross the tracks when a train was approaching or already in motion.
“The Authority maintains that the preservation of human life must remain paramount in all road-use decisions,” the statement said.
LASTMA appealed to motorists and other road users to obey traffic and railway safety regulations to prevent avoidable collisions.
