Driver knocks LASTMA officer into lagoon from Third Mainland Bridge

A hit-and-run driver knocked Kehinde Sonaike, an officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), off the Third Mainland Bridge and into the lagoon below while on patrol on Thursday, May 2, 2019.

The officer from Zone 11 was rescued by fishermen after he fell into the lagoon near Adekunle in Lagos Mainland around 11 am on Thursday. The driver fled the scene immediately.

Sonaike was rushed to Gbagada General Hospital where he was stabilised before he was later taken to LASTMA Clinic in Oshodi, according to a report by The Nation.

The law enforcement officer said he was travelling in his LASTMA-issued sport utility vehicle (SUV) to Adekunle from Iyana-Oworonsoki when he stopped to help a motorist whose car had broken down on the bridge.

"I came down from the vehicle and put on my hazard light so that I could assist the driver.

"As I was assisting the man, a vehicle came and hit the LASTMA car from the rear, hit me in the process and the next thing I saw was that I fell off from the Third Mainland Bridge into the lagoon.

"I can swim a little, but the fishermen rescued me. They were about four," he said.

LASTMA General Manager, Olawale Musa, condemned the action of the driver who remains at large and advised others to avoid over-speeding so as not to endanger other road users.