General News of Friday, 11 January 2019

Source: 3news.com

8 killed in accident that left severed limbs scattered on Accra-Kumasi road

Large portion of the right side of Sprinter mini bus was mangled with some section ripped Large portion of the right side of Sprinter mini bus was mangled with some section ripped

Two vehicles have collided at Boankra on the Accra-Kumasi road killing eight people and leaving seven others with varying degrees of injuries.

The injured are receiving treatment at the Ejisu Government Hospital, where the bodies of the deceased have also been deposited.

An eyewitness, Nana Yaw, who was close to the spot of the accident told our correspondent Beatrice Spio-Garbrah that some of the deceased have had their limbs severed.

“We rushed to the scene of the accident only to find that some passengers on the Sprinter bus have had their heads, legs were cut off,” he said.

The accident occurred Friday dawn when a mini bus overtook another vehicle on a speed ramp and collided head-on with an articulated truck, causing the truck to veer off the road before crashing into a building.

The frontage of the Sprinter bus and the right side were mangled and some section of the body ripped.

Confirming the accident to 3news.com, the Police said both the driver and the mate of the Sprinter mini bus were among those who died.

Police say the deceased were all occupants of the mini bus which was travelling from Kumasi to Konongo.

Driver of the truck, registered ER-5382-X, and his mate who suffered injuries are said to be responding to treatment.

Ashanti Regional MTTD Commander Chief Supt. Frank Abrokwah our correspondent Beatrice Spio-Garbrah that they received information on the accident at about 4.30 am Friday and a team was dispatched there.

He said preliminary investigations have revealed that the sprinter bus had overtaken another sprinter bus from the passenger direction on a section of the road where a speed ramp had been constructed.

“In the process, he lost control of the steering wheel and ran into the lane of the oncoming truck and crash into it. That truck in an attempt to avoid the accident veered off its lane and ran into somebody’s house causing extensive damage to the house,” Supt. Abrokwa said.

He said though the Christmas was over, the Police MTTD will intensify its education of drivers, noting “Christmas is over yet the rules are as it is, and the vehicles are as it is”.

Chief Supt Abrokwa advised drivers to exercise utmost caution on the road because “they carry human lives”.

“What at all will embolden a driver to overtake another on highway from the passenger direction? It is unheard of, yet this is what he has done leading to the death of innocent souls,” he wondered.