Accidents occurred at Alipe, near Yapei in the Central Gonja municipality in the Savannah, last Tuesday and in Cape Coast and Tesano in Accra yesterday.
The bloodiest of the accidents occurred when a Toyota mini bus, with registration number AS 2872 – 20 and transporting 18 passengers from Tamale to Kumasi, was involved in a head-on collision with a DAF tipper truck.
A 19-year-old Level 100 Bachelor of Commerce student of the University of Cape Coast, Priscilla Owusu Achiaw, was knocked down by a speeding Mercedes Sprinter bus last Saturday and died four days later from her injuries. Already, the first quarter of this year has seen at least three accidents being recorded in the area, resulting in the loss of many lives, with many others getting injured.
The road is very motorable and it is unclear what could be causing the accidents, with police appealing to the public to help identify the deceased. The accident vehicles had since been towed to the central Gonja Police Station to assist in investigations. The area has been noted for road crashes for years.
The truck, with a foreign number plate, was loaded with 220 bags of onions and was parked in the inner lane of the road. The deceased have been identified as Kwasi Appiah, 53, the driver of a Hyundai H100 minibus, and Miriam Owusu, 17.
Seven other passengers on the minibus who sustained injuries were taken to three hospitals. Adams Rabiu, 43, has since been arrested by the police and has been granted bail. He claimed a truck developed a mechanical fault and he parked it in a warning triangle to alert other road users.
The driver of the bus, who reported himself to the police, has been given bail and the docket forwarded to the Attorney-General’s office for advice. He said the victim was knocked down by a speeding Sprinter bus and was in the company of her friends to buy some food items when the bus was knocked her down.
The bus was from Akyem Kade and was heading towards Accra Central, which was overtaking another car, when the driver was taken to the hospital. The victim was hit by the bus last Saturday, but she died four days later. “The incident happened on Saturday, April 10, 2021 and she passed away about 11.30 a.m.