<<Print>>

In what could be described as a repetition of last year�s chain of strange fatal accidents that ushered in the Atta Mills government, another wave of calamities seem to be greeting the first anniversary of the administration. DAILY GUIDE has catalogued a number of fatal accidents during the last few days, with at least 21 deaths, including that of an aspiring Propaganda Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Adams Boniface. The death of the NDC activist, which was confirmed by Johnson Asiedu Nketia, General Secretary, occurred after a regional rally in Kumasi. All the accidents occurred in several parts of the country, with the latest one happening in the early hours of yesterday on the Kumasi-Accra Highway where 14 people died after two vehicles had collided at Ohene Nkwanta near Konongo-Odumase in the Ashanti region. While a total of four similar deaths were recorded at Ada in the Dangme West District, the GNA reported that two other lives were lost at Agona Abodom in the Central region. One person was also reported dead at a spot near the Ashaiman Police Barrier on Christmas Eve. In the Ashanti accident, which instantly claimed nine lives, scores of people on board the two vehicles, an Accra-bound Ford with registration number AS 1465-09 and a Kia Truck numbered GR 9321 heading to Kumasi, also sustained various degrees of injury. The gory accident occurred when the Kia Truck, laden with people believed to be galamseyers, veered off its lane in which a faulty articulated truck with registration number AS 8103 F was parked, colliding with the Ford which was coming from the opposite direction. The bodies of the deceased persons, some of whom were disfigured, had been deposited at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) morgue in Kumasi awaiting autopsy whilst the injured were also responding to treatment at the same hospital. The Ashanti Regional Commander of the Motor Transport and Traffic Unit (MTTU), ASP Abraham Bansah, told DAILY GUIDE that drivers of both vehicles were among the dead. He was of the opinion that the accident could have been averted if the driver of the Kia Truck had waited for the Ford car which was on its lane to pass before veering into the opposite lane. The police capo added that the accident occurred because the driver of the faulty articulated truck, one Busia Nanie, failed to display advance warning signs 50 meters away, both in front and at the rear of his faulty vehicle. Consequently, the police, he said, had apprehended and detained Busia Nanie for his negligence. Meanwhile, reports from Ada in the Greater Accra Region say four people were killed in three separate accidents around the same period. In the first report, a brand new Ford Ranger XLT travelling from Ocansey Kope to Accra on Boxing Day veered off the road at Kunyenya, near Kasseh, killing two occupants. The victims, both females, were said to be the mother and sister of the driver of the double-cabin pick-up with a DVLA trial number. Before then, one other person was reported dead when his vehicle skidded off the road at Obane, near Big-Ada. This was followed by the drowning of an 11-year-old boy in the Volta River at Big Ada on Sunday. Confirming the four deaths, the district NADMO Coordinator, Samuel Portuphey, said while accidents could not be entirely eliminated, one sure way of minimizing the death toll was to get more trained NADMO guards to man the roads and river banks. In a related development, a young man whose car had run into a parked articulated truck last Sunday at Ashaiman, was reported to have died instantly. Furthermore, GNA has reported that two persons died on the spot while four others sustained various degrees of injury when a taxi cab collided with a private car near Agona Abodom on Saturday. The dead were Kweku Esuon, driver of the taxi and an unidentified passenger. According to a spokesman of the Agona Abodom Police, the four injured persons were returning from an engagement ceremony at Gomoa Eshiem when the incident occurred. They were Raphael Abutey, driver of the unregistered private car, Emmanuel Apoh-Mensah, Ms Gilberta Azu, 18, and Ms Linda Safowa, 19. The spokesman said the four, who were in a critical condition, were on admission at the Agona Swedru Government Hospital.He said the bodies of the dead had been deposited at the mortuary of the same hospital while police investigations continue. Dr. Apetorgbor Dzordorgbe, Medical Superintendent of the Agona Swedru Government Hospital, said doctors and nurses were working �around the clock� to save the lives of the four persons. As at the time of going to bed, unconfirmed reports said another fatal accident near the Michel Camp also recorded a number of deaths.