A COMMERCIAL minibus driver on Wednesday ran over a group of school children on the Santasi dual-carriage way near the Opoku Ware Senior High School in Kumasi, leaving two pupils dead and three others injured.
The deceased were identified as Agnes Anane Bonsu, a four-year-old kindergarten pupil and Esther Agyeiwaa Boadu, a nine-year-old class-three pupil, both of Opoku Ware M/A Basic School.
Magdalene Bruwaa Kusi, a four-year-old kindergarten girl who survived the accident, was hospitalized and in critical condition at the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH).
The other injured children, namely Aaron Boakye, nine, and Lordina Afriyie, nine, both in class three of the Opoku Ware M/A Basic School, have since been treated and discharged, but remained traumatized, Appiah Boateng, headmaster in charge of the JHS told DAILY GUIDE.
The accident oc�cur�red about 7:00 am Wednesday at the entry of a pedestrian crossing on the sidewalk of the road on Thurs�day, he added.
Mr. Boateng said the victims were among a group of school children who were trying to cross the road after a traffic warden had stopped oncoming vehicles.
Solomon Baafi, who was in charge of the bus, registered AS 6156-09, recklessly jumped traffic, drove on the shoulders of the road and hit five of the children, missing the rest by inches, the Ashanti Regional Police MTTU Commander stated.
Chief Supt. Peter Gyimah narrated that in�itial police in�ves�ti�ga�tions established that the bus driver was coming from the Santasi direction and heading toward the city centre of Kumasi when the avoidable incident happened.
In his view, lack of patience on the part of Solomon Baafi was the cause of the tragedy, as the driver ignored the flow of traffic �as a result of his disregard for human life.�
�It was a horrific day for school children, residents and the school authorities alike,� Chief Supt. Gyimah noted.
The MTTU Commander stated that Solomon Baafi was arrested following the accident, and had since been remanded in custody on a provisional charge of murder.
He added that the suspect was expected back in court on January 20, to answer the charges.
Meanwhile, teachers and pupils of the Opoku Ware M/A Basic School are yet to overcome the shock that hit them following the bloody incident.
Headmaster of the school, Appiah Boateng told DAILY GUIDE that many of the children still remained traumatized, particularly Aaron Boakye, one of the victims, whose sister � Agnes Anane Boadu � died in the accident.
It was his expectation that city authorities would either construct an overhead walk-way crossing, underground tunnel or speed ramps to avoid a recurrence of any accident, as many school children cross the road at the portion where the accident occurred.
A local resident who gave her name as Ama Kwartemaa said, �I saw the school kids being knocked down. I got so scared that I started wailing and shouted for help.�
Deceased Agnes Boadu is the second child of Alberta Osei Bonsu, a 32-year-old mother of three, while Esther was the only child of 31-year-old Cecilia Oppong.
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