The Minister of Transport, Kweku Ofori Asiamah interacting with an accident victim
Some survivors of last Friday’s ghastly accident on the Techiman-Kintampo highway that claimed about 60 lives have accused one of the drivers involved of excessive speed.
The deaths of about 60 people in the gory accident, which occurred on the Amomoa-Nkwanta stretch of the Techiman-Kintampo highway, in particular, has sparked another round of heated debate over road safety in the country due to the high number of casualties involved.
The accident victim said he was on board the VVIP ANKAI bus with registration number GT 39116-17 travelling from Garu in the Upper East Region to Kumasi when the accident happened.
He said the driver, identified as Alexander Amoako Gyan, who died in the crash, started speeding right from Garu, and no amount of persuasion could force him to stop until the bus collided with the Kia Grand Bird bus with registration GT5694-18, which was heading towards Bolgatanga from Accra.
According to the passenger, he travelled to the north to attend his father’s funeral with his six-year-old son.
He said at some point, the passengers in the front seat told the driver to slow down but he declined.
“Even at a certain point, he was dozing so some of the passengers asked him to stop and hand over the bus to a spare driver. From there, I felt asleep and all I heard was the crash.”
He added, “I was not hurt and luckily my son too, who was on my chest, did not get hurt. I was on number 12 seat with my son.”
Another victim, who was on travelling on board the Grand Bird bus from Accra to Bolgatanga, said he did not hear anything until he woke up in the hospital.
She said she sustained an injury in the arm.
Another passenger, who had injuries on the buttocks, said she was lucky to escape death.
There were a total of 108 passengers in both buses, and the problem was compounded when one of the buses caught fire as a result of the deadly crash.
As at Friday, the death toll stood at 55 while 53 passengers reportedly sustained severe injuries.
On Saturday, rescuers retrieved five other bodies.
Police report says 35 of the 55 passengers, who died, were burnt beyond recognition, while 20 had been identified.
The victims were taken to Techiman Holy Family Hospital and Jema Government Hospital – both in the Bono East Region.
From Daniel Y Dayee, Kintampo