An eyewitness has recounted details of a tragic car crash at East Legon, Accra, that claimed the lives of two women and left three others injured on Saturday, October 12, 2024.
The security guard, who was at the scene, described the moment when he heard a loud crash while at his post.
“I am a security guard at this place. You can see that from the security post to where the bench is about five steps, so, I was sitting there when I heard the noise. Before I realised it, the security room started falling, then I realized that there was an accident. So, we came to the scene, my boss and myself," the eyewitness recounted.
According to him, a crowd quickly gathered at the scene, with many rushing to open the gate to rescue the occupants of the vehicles.
“So, when we came out, we saw a crowd entering the house. They were pushing the gate, asking us to open it. So, I opened the gate for them, not knowing they were trying to rescue those in the car, but they couldn't.
“They rushed to try to bring the people out. When I opened the gate for them to enter, we were able to rescue two girls, but the others, we couldn't. They said the driver was already out.
“One Muslim guy tried his best to bring out a young lady who was very weak at the time, and she was rushed to the hospital,” he stated.
The security guard further explained that firefighters arrived at the scene two hours later.
“We tried to quench the fire with a fire extinguisher to rescue the rest, but we couldn't. Looking at the two cars burning at the same time, there was nothing I could do.
“So, I started calling the fire service. People were calling the fire service, but the response wasn’t coming. Fortunately, people who supply water to houses came to the scene carrying water in four tanks,” he added.
He added that “Without the help of those people, the fire couldn't enter the house. They did everything possible to bring the fire under control. More than two hours before fire service was able to respond to the scene.“
CCTV footage showed how the accident led to the deaths of two women and left three others critically injured.
The footage shared online showed a speeding vehicle on a main road approaching a junction, where it crashes into another vehicle ahead of it.
Three others, including the drivers of a Jaguar and an Artura vehicle, are also reported to have sustained various degrees of injuries and are battling for their lives.
Assistant Division Officer (ADO) Alex King Nartey from the Public Affairs Department of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) confirmed the incident in an interview on Adom FM.
ADO Nartey said the deceased were in the Acura vehicle.
According to him, preliminary investigations have established that the accident was due to overspeeding.
ADO Nartey further revealed that one of the vehicles crashed into a wooden electric pole, causing the cables to fall off, which reportedly started the fire.
AM/AE
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