The driver involved in the fatal crash at Eduagyei Village on the Cape Coast-Takoradi highway on Wednesday, 3 August 2022, has been arrested.
A statement from the police confirmed that the suspect Paul Kwah, the driver in charge of an articulated truck, is in their custody.
According to the police, preliminary investigation reveals that the driver was driving a Dad Flat Body Articulated Truck with registration No. GM 2670-12, loaded with 850 bags of cement from Takoradi to Accra.
“On reaching the Eduagyei village, he carelessly overtook some vehicles and collided head-on with an oncoming Toyota Hiace mini bus [with registration number] No. WR 1347-17.”
The driver and 11 passengers on board the Toyota Hiace vehicle were all confirmed dead by a medical officer at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital.
The dead include five females and seven males. Their bodies have been deposited at the hospital morgue for autopsy.
The police said the team is working with the families of the deceased to assist in identifying the victims of the accident.
“While we commiserate with the affected families, we continue to entreat all road users to be disciplined, responsible and demonstrate a sense of humanity and adhere to road regulations in order to avoid such preventable accidents,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the female passenger, who is the only survivor, is responding to treatment.
Accident trends
A total of 2,924 lives were lost through road carnage in 2021. The figure was a 12.9% increase in deaths compared to the previous year, which recorded 2,589 deaths.
Some 15,680 persons suffered injuries in 2021 from 15,972 accidents. There were 1,106 more accidents and an increase of 163 more injuries compared to 2020.
Some major accidents over the period
- Six children dead in a ghastly car accident
On 13 May 2022, reports of the death of six school children, between ages four and 15, including three siblings, broke out.
They are said to have died after a car ran over them, killing them on the spot at Matamallam, a suburb of Krachi West Municipality of the Oti Region.
One other, Emmanuel Wasah, sustained injuries and was taken to the Kete Krachi Hospital.
The Toyota Saloon car, with registration number GR 2392-22, which knocked them down, was said to have encountered a mechanical fault.
Preliminary investigations revealed the children closed from the Matamallam D/A School and were walking home when the driver lost control of the vehicle and ran into them.
- A road crash in February killed 17 passengers and injured 44 others early Wednesday, 3 February.
A police statement said the accident occurred when two passenger buses travelling in opposite directions collided head-on in a town near Buipe, a community along the Kumasi-Tamale highway.
Sixteen persons died on the spot, while one more died at a hospital where the injured were receiving treatment.
The deceased included 12 males, five females, and one child.
The accident involved two buses with registration numbers GT 3345-16 and AC 1699-20.
They were travelling from Kumasi to Zebila and from Garu to Kumasi, respectively, when they ran into each other.
Three fatalities were recorded in the Central Region and 16 in the Eastern Region on Friday, 26 February 2021.
Joy FFM’sAlfred Amoh reported that a truck conveying mourners from Assin Nyankomase to Assin Misrenyame veered off the Assin Nyankomase-Assin Senchiem main road and somersaulted several times.
Three passengers died on the spot, and several others sustained severe injuries, including the driver.
The accident involved two Kia Grandbird buses with registration numbers GT 5629-19 and GE 5510-15, one of which was a VIP bus.
According to reports, the people who died included the driver and mate of the VIP bus.
A total of 13 males and three females lost their lives.
However, one passenger from the Benz was rescued and is currently in critical condition at the LEKMA Hospital.
The driver of the Mercedez Benz vehicle reportedly ignored warning signals of an earlier accident on the road and ran into a 20 footer container that had fallen onto the street.
Police personnel was present at the scene directing traffic. They were supervising the removal of the container from the road when the second accident occurred and resulted in the death of the three persons.
The accident happened on Saturday, 20 March 2021.
They were travelling to Accra from Kumasi on the bus with registration number GW 7444 – 21 when the crash occurred at about 2:30 pm on Sunday, 12 April.
According to the police, one of the car tyres burst, causing the driver, 35-year-old Eric Ohemang, to lose control.
Eleven died on the spot, including an eight-year-old girl at Alipe in the Central Gonja District of the Savannah Region.
A Toyota minibus with registration number AS 2872-20 veered off its lane and collided head-on with a DAF tipper truck with registration number NR 578 loaded with sand.
There were 18 persons on board travelling from Tamale to Kumasi.
The minibus driver was one of the people who died on the spot.
The crash occurred on Tuesday, 13 April 2021, at around 7:30 pm.
The accident occurred after a commercial vehicle (trotro) rammed into a faulty trailer parked in the middle of the road at about 4:30 am on Wednesday, 14 April.
According to eyewitnesses, the trailer driver failed to place any sign indicating that his vehicle had broken down.
The trotro driver, on top speed, could not see the stationary truck, which carried a number plate supposedly issued in the Republic of Togo, resulting in the crash.
The driver of the trotro and another occupant are reported dead.
The Ghana police and the Ambulance Service personnel were at the scene to rescue trapped occupants from the vehicle.
Three innocent persons died while three others battled for their lives after being knocked down by a car engaged in a racing competition at the 37 Lorry Station area in Accra. It was a Toyota Camry Salon car with registration number GR- 1708 -21 driving from the direction of the Accra Trade Fair and heading towards the 37 Roundabout, which lost control and crashed.
Together with a Mercedes Benz saloon car, the drivers defied road regulation and engaged in a competition within the high-security military zone where the Burma Camp is also located.
The incident occurred at about 8:30 pm on Wednesday, 14 April, the same day two persons lost their lives in an accident at Tesano in Accra, making it 17 deaths within two days.
You might also be interested in:
-
- “egalize OOkada’– NPP MP Backs Mahama
- Road Crashes: 10 NDC Supporters Die In Gory Accidents In Two Months
- 222 People Died In Road Accidents In January Alone
- Motorcycle Accidents Spike Road Fatalities For April 2020
- SPECIAL REPORT: The Okada Angels Of Death- The Big Debate (Part 1)
- SPECIAL REPORT: The Okada Queen Of Accra-The Big Okada Debate (Part 2)