Four persons have been remanded by a High Court in Accra for their involvement in the accident involving the new Tema to Mpakadan Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) 001 train colliding head-on with a truck abandoned on the railway at Abotia area.
The four, Kokou Koudjo, gas welder; Patrick Kwaku Sosu, Alaza Prosper and Fiadugbe Emmanuel, all labourers, are alleged to have abetted Abel Dzidotor, the convicted driver who abandoned the truck on the railway.
Court documents indicate that the four were in the truck with the convicted driver when it got stuck on the railway and they decided to abandon it.
The documents further state that the four being fully aware that the railway lines were inaccessible to motor vehicles still decided to use the railway lines as a shortcut to get to Juapong.
“Even if the truck had successfully crossed the railway, a big gutter and a stream to the west side of the railway lines would have prevented the accused persons from joining the Akuse-Juapong road,” the documents revealed.
They have been charged with one count of abetment of unlawful damage and their plea has been reserved by the court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, after the prosecution prayed the court not to take pleas to allow them conduct further investigations.
The new train, manufactured by the Polish company Pesa and delivered in early April 2024, is the first diesel train in Ghana.
It is intended to serve the newly constructed Tema-Mpakadan standard-gauge railway line, transporting passengers from Mpakadan to Tema Port, with a switch to a narrow-gauge line for travel to Accra.
During the accident, the truck got damaged beyond repairs while the train had some minor degree of damage, which authorities say could be repaired in Ghana.
A 41-year-old truck driver, Abel Dzidotor, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment by the Juapong Circuit Court in the Eastern Region, on April 19, 2024.
This was after he pleaded guilty to three out of four charges, including inconsiderate driving and causing unlawful damage.
He was sentenced to 100 penalty units (GH¢1,200) for careless and inconsiderate driving, 20 penalty units (GH¢240) for unauthorised stopping, and six months’ imprisonment with hard labour for causing unlawful damage.
Four other persons have now been dragged before a High Court in Accra following further investigation and they are accused of abetting the driver in causing the unlawful damage to the train.
A court documents states that on April 18, 2024, between 9:00am and 1:00pm, the accused persons were on board a Hyundai Gold truck with registration number GS 9018-20, driven by Dzidotor Abel.
It states that preliminary investigations revealed that Dzidotor Abel bought some blocks from a block factory at Juapong and conveyed same to Abotia using the underpass of the railway lines.
The document said he was in the vehicle together with the accused persons and after discharging the blocks at his site, they decided to avoid the under bridge and cross the railway lines with their vehicle.
The four accused persons upon arriving at the railway lines and realising that it was impossible to cross over the railway tracks, decided to gather stones from the sides of the tracks, which they placed on the railway lines to serve as a path for the truck to cross over.
However, the truck still got stuck on the railway line. The accused persons tilted the head of the truck and left the scene without providing any warning for trains plying the tracks.
Investigations have disclosed that there is no access route across the railway tracks to the Juapong road, and even if the truck had successfully crossed the railway, a big gutter and a stream to the west side of the railway lines would have prevented the accused persons from joining the Akuse-Juapong road.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak