The accident vehicle
TWO PERSONS are battling for their lives at the Asafo Agyei Hospital after a speeding vehicle knocked them down at Sokoban in the Atwima Kwanwoma Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
The accident, which occurred last Saturday, involved a private vehicle with registration number GE 461-15, allegedly driven by a suspected drunk driver.
The driver, whose identity has been withheld, was arrested following the incident.
The Assembly Member for the Sokoban-Daban Electoral Area, Kwadwo Boateng, who reportedly led efforts to apprehend the driver, confirmed the accident and said the victims were knocked down while standing by the roadside.
He disclosed that the driver was suspected to have been under the influence of alcohol when the accident occurred.
Mr. Boateng expressed concern over what he described as the increasing spate of pedestrian knockdowns in the area, blaming the situation partly on the absence of speed ramps and roadside barricades.
According to him, his office, together with residents, had repeatedly petitioned the Department of Feeder Roads and the area’s Member of Parliament to facilitate the construction of speed ramps and barricades to check speeding and protect pedestrians.
However, he lamented that the appeals had not received the needed attention, despite several lives reportedly being lost through similar accidents.
“Several people have died through similar pedestrian knockdowns in this area. We have cried to the authorities for speed ramps, but nobody listens to us until another life is lost,” he lamented.
The Assembly Member consequently appealed to the relevant authorities to urgently intervene and provide the necessary road safety infrastructure to prevent further fatalities.
Meanwhile, the police have commenced investigations into the accident, while the two victims remain in critical condition at the hospital.
FROM David Afum, Kumasi