There were deadly vehicular accidents in some parts of the country over the weekend, thereby raising road safety concerns once again.
Accidents at Offinso in the Ashanti Region, Somanya in the Eastern Region and Lougri near Walewale in the North East Region, all in a spate of 24 hours, have set tongues wagging as to how vehicular crashes and their accompanying casualties are gaining notoriety in the country lately.
In total, 13 people, mostly children and teenagers, including a policeman, have lost their lives in the three major accidents and many have sustained serious injuries.
Young Footballers
In the Ashanti Region, six young footballers died on the spot while several others are battling for their lives after a Pregio mini bus they were travelling on crashed.
The vehicle with registration number AS 928-19, which was from Afrancho and heading towards Offinso in the Ashanti Region, suddenly veered off the road at top speed, somersaulted several times before plunging into the Offin River at about 3:30 p.m.
Six teenagers, who are all Colts players, died on the spot and the incident caused heavy gridlock on the Kumasi-Offinso highway.
Unfortunately, later two of the young players died while receiving treatment at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, bringing the total number of fatality to eight.
According to an eyewitness, the boys were returning to Offinso from Afrancho where they had gone to undertake Colts football registration.
The driver of the mini bus was said to be driving at top speed and he lost control of the steering wheel as the vehicle dangerously somersaulted and landed into the Offin River.
Residents of the area then called the police, NADMO and Ghana National Fire Service, who combined to save most of the passengers on the bus.
An eyewitness, who only gave his name as Whiteman, said six young boys, aged between 12 and 16, died right at the accident scene and four others sustained serious injuries.
According to him, virtually all the people that were travelling on the busy road at that time left their vehicles and rushed to the accident scene ostensibly to help save some precious lives from the river.
Eastern Region
In the Eastern Region, four persons, including three children, met their untimely deaths in a gory accident at Somanya, the municipal capital of Yilo Krobo.
The acting Public Relations Officer of the Eastern Regional Police Command, Sergeant Francis Gomado, confirmed that the head-on collision occurred on Saturday at about 2:40 p.m.
He said it happened right opposite the University of Environment and Sustainable Development stretch of the Somanya-Dodowa-Accra road.
Briefing DAILY GUIDE, Sergeant Gomado said the police gathered that an Opel Astra taxi cab with registration number AS 2061-12 and a Green Hyundai H-100 mini bus with registration number GW 5954-14 had been involved in a head-on collision.
According to him, Joshua Djabanor, 37, driving the Opel taxi cab, was coming from Accra towards Somanya with eight passengers on board, including children.
He said the other driver, Clement Nuerty, 28, in charge of the Hyundai H-100 mini bus with registration number GW 5954-14, was also driving from Somanya towards Accra with 13 passengers on board, including children.
On reaching a section of the road directly in front of the Eastern University Gate, it was alleged that the taxi cab veered off its lane and collided with the Hyundai H-100 mini bus.
In the process, 24 passengers sustained injuries and were rushed to the Atua Government Hospital for medical treatment.
However, four passengers, namely Patience Paddy, 31; Kadmiel Kota, nine; Shanel Awudu, four, and Marvin Oyanor, four, were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
According to sources, the drivers are now prime suspects in the case.
North East Region
In the North East Region, a policeman, Lance Corporal Ernest Oteng, has died in a fatal road accident involving a Tamale-Bolga bound Kia Grand Bird bus with registration number AS 9634-20.
The incident happened at about 4:30 a.m. on Saturday on the outskirts of Lougri in the North East Region.
A police report sighted by DAILY GUIDE indicated that three other officers, namely Sergeant Seidu Bouri, Lance Corporal Paul Ofori and Lance Corporal Elijah Mensah, were in critical condition and had been conveyed with an ambulance to the Tamale Teaching Hospital for medical attention.
The North East Regional Police Commander, DCOP Kwadwo Antwi Tabi, told journalists that the police officers were on patrol duties, escorting vehicles near Nasia due to the robbery situation in the region when the incident happened.
The Grand Bird bus was moving from Tamale to Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region when it collided with the oncoming police patrol vehicle.
According to the Commander, one of the officers is in coma and doctors are working hard to resuscitate him.
“I am from the Tamale Teaching Hospital and as of the time I was leaving, one was in coma but the doctors have assured us that they will do their best to save them,” he said.
Meanwhile, the driver of the Kia Grand Bird bus, Mohammed Musah, 24, has been detained by the North East Police Command to assist in investigation.
The police vehicle involved in the accident had been damaged beyond repairs.
Recent Accidents
Just last week, a Burkinabe registered articulated truck loaded with flour caused serious accident in the Eastern Region leaving about 14 people dead.
The fatal accident occurred at about 5 a.m. at Kyekyewere, near Asuboi in the Ayensuano District, when the articulated truck, heading towards Kumasi from Accra, veered into an oncoming lane and crushed two passenger buses both from the opposite direction on the busy Accra to Kumasi highway.
Barely 72 hours after the incident, another claimed seven lives at Gomoa Adam, near Gomoa Anteadze on the Accra-Cape Coast highway.
The accident involving a Ford Transit and a Toyota Hiace left several others injured.
By I.F. Joe Awuah Jn., Daniel Bampoe & Eric Kombat