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RESIDENTS OF Santasi in Kumasi yesterday started the day on a sour note after a speeding truck killed four persons instantly, including a ten-year-old student, leaving others including minors in critical conditions. Other reports put the death toll at five. The injured were rushed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) by onlookers. A rampaging DAF articulated truck driven at top speed, reminiscent of a race car, hit a woman on the pavement, veered off the road, rammed into a Toyota car and then hit about eight pupils standing by the roadside before trapping a lady to death. She is believed to be a staff of Ghana Post. The driver of the trailer truck, registered AS 5018-12, belonging to the Isaac Owusu Ansah Company Limited, was allegedly chasing a taxi cab which had crossed its path from the Santasi roundabout area for reasons best known to the long vehicle driver. Eyewitnesses said the articulated truck chased the taxi cab at that speed for more than 500 metres until the cabbie, who sensed danger, initiated a sharp turn to dodge being hit by his alleged bloody-thirsty assailant. It was then that the driver of the speeding truck lost control of the steering wheel and veered off the road, hitting a woman who was about to cross the road. It rammed into a parked Toyota vehicle, dragging it to hit the about eight pupils waiting for their school bus and a bread seller before trapping the Ghana Post lady just in front of the Santasi Post Office. Eyewitnesses disclosed that one of the school children, together with the woman that was crossing the road as well as the Ghana Post woman who was trapped under the huge vehicle, died instantly, whilst another student died later at the hospital. DAILY GUIDE gathered that the driver of the DAF Truck, together with his mate who did not suffer any bruises on their bodies, after the accident, left the scene, fleeing at top speed without even attempting to lend a helping hand to the victims including the children who were bleeding profusely. Sources said it took the intervention of some brave young men at Santasi who quickly rushed to the accident scene who managed to lift the vehicle to retrieve the body under it. Initially, there were conflicting reports regarding the exact number of persons that had perished in the accident, with some speculating that about twelve people had been killed. But when contacted, the Assembly member for Santasi, Samuel Amankwah, confirmed to DAILY GUIDE that four persons had been declared dead. They were one Esther of Ghana Post, a cassava seller and two pupils, one of whom was 10-year-old Maame Nyarko. Richard Karikari of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), who was at the scene, also said information reaching his outfit indicated that two more people, Sandra Akosah, 10 years and Esther Joan Afo, 45, perished in the accident. The Assembly member said the area was becoming an accident-prone zone lately as drivers that plied the road liked speeding. He called on the city authorities to quickly construct ramps at Santasi to control the situation. Charles Yeboah, a resident of Santasi, lamented over the manner in which drivers sped on the road, disclosing that his 25-year-old son was hit and killed by a runaway driver about three weeks ago.