• A gory accident happened at Akomadan
• President Akufo-Addo has advised people to be careful on the roads
• Road crashes continue to be the highest killers of people in the country
The National Road Safety Authority has clarified that the death toll of the Akomadan road traffic crash is 6 and not the more than 30 that has been earlier reported.
“While every road traffic-death is regrettable, the Authority wishes to confirm the casualty toll recorded as at the close of day as twenty-nine (29) made up of six (6) deaths and twenty-three injuries (23) and not the thirty-five (35) deaths as variously reported,” a statement from the NRSA said.
Earlier, it had been reported that about 30 passengers were feared to have been burnt to death after a vehicle they were traveling in caught fire at Akomadan in the Ashanti Region on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, at dawn.
The commercial bus travelling from Lawra in the Upper West Region was said to have caught fire after it crashed into a stationary vehicle at the police checkpoint at Akomadan.
According to the NRSA statement however, “the crash involved a 45-seater commercial service Yutong Bus with registration number (GT4215-17) heading towards Kumasi from Nandom in the Upper West Region and another Kia Truck with registration number GB6983-12 travelling from Kumasi to Techiman.”
The statement also indicated that it had been established from preliminary investigations that, the cause of the crash was speeding and driver fatigue.
“The Authority wishes to call on the police to intensify its speed enforcement programme particularly on high-risk corridors. On its part, the Authority, has intensified the enforcement of protocols for inter-city operators including the use if vehicle logbooks as well as two-drivers (relay driving) for journeys more than eight hours or 500 kms and wish to appeal for public support for these enforcement actions for our collective good,” it added.
Earlier, the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, had advised road users to be careful.
Speaking about a related road crash, the president asked drivers to learn to drive safely in order to reduce road accidents in the country.
On Monday, seventeen people, including 10 children were confirmed dead in an accident involving a sprinter bus and an articulated truck in the Abofuor Forest in the Ashanti region.
The accident occurred at about 3:30 am on Monday when the Man Diesel truck with registration number GS 4339-17 collided head-on with the Kumasi-Daboya bound Mercedes Sprinter bus with registration number GT 6075-15.
On Tuesday, another accident occurred on the Kumasi-Techiman Highway when a bus collided with a KIA Rhino after which the bus caught fire and burnt some six persons beyond recognition.
While wishing bereaved families his condolences, the president used the opportunity to caution drivers and users of the road to be cautious and drive safe in order to protect lives especially during this season.
“I have learnt with considerable sadness of the tragic accident, at Akomadan, that has claimed the lives of some 30 people in the early hours of this morning.
“I extend my condolences to families of the deceased and wish the injured a speedy recovery. I continue to urge all road users, especially our drivers, to drive safely always, and help reduce the spate of road accidents in the country,” his tweet said.
