Regional News of Thursday, 23 November 2006

Source: GNA

Road accident kills driver

Atwedie (Ash), Nov. 23, GNA 96 A 31-year-old driver of a Blue-Bird bus belonging to the Kingdom Transport (KTS), died on the spot in the early hours of Monday when his bus ran into a timber truck at Atwedie, near Juaso on the Asante-Akim section of the Kumasi-Accra Highway. It took a combined team of personnel from the Fire and Ambulance Services from nearby Konongo and Juaso about an hour to retrieve the body of the deceased, which was trapped in between the steering wheel and the driver's seat.

Two other passengers who sustained minor injuries have been treated and discharged at the Juaso District Hospital.

Briefing the Ghana News Agency on the accident, Inspector Raymond Ayitey of the Juaso Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), said the timber truck, loaded with logs, was heading towards Kumasi, while the bus was also on its way to Accra from Bolgatanga with 30 passengers on board.

In a related development, residents living in and around the Atwedie, Asankare and Nnadieso, all communities along the Asante-Akim section of the Kumasi Accra highway, have appealed to the inspector General of Police to restore the police barrier at Adansi, near Asankare, adding that its removal about a year ago has increased the spate of road accidents due to over speeding.

The appeal comes in the wake of the death of 10 people in five accidents within three consecutive weeks on that part of the road, all of which have been attributed to over speeding.