4 perish, 39 injured in Tuobodom accident

Four persons died on the spot in an accident that occurred at Tuobodom in the Techiman North District on the Kintampo-Techiman highway in the Bono East Region at dawn yesterday.

The deceased included a mother and her four-year-old son, a nine-month-old baby boy and the bus driver’s mate.

The 39 other passengers who sustained varying degrees of injuries, are receiving treatment at the Techiman Holy Family Hospital, including an officer of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).

The accident occurred about 3:50a.m. when a KIA Grandbird bus from Bolgatanga to Kumasi ran into a breakdown DAF articulated truck in front of the Tuobodom Senior High School.

The breakdown truck had two different Burkina Faso registration numbers — 11-KM-1338 at the front and 11-KM-7337 at the back.

There were no warning triangles or reflectors to warn oncoming vehicles and other road users about the parked truck.

Briefing

The Bono East Regional Director of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Mr Emmanuel Akyeampong-Parry, who confirmed the accident, said the Kia Grandbird bus crashed into the rear of the truck.

“The bus driver, who also appeared to have lost concentration or could possibly have been sleeping while driving at top speed, crashed the bus into the rear end of the stationary articulated truck,” he said.

Passenger’s narration

According to a passenger who said he was seated behind the driver in the bus, Frederick Inzohini, when he realized the bus was veering towards the stationary truck, he tapped the driver on the shoulder.

He claimed that the driver was sleeping, and that when he (driver) suddenly woke up after the tap, he attempted steering away, but the bus hit the truck in the process.

Mr. Inzohini further alleged that during the journey, passengers had complained about the loud music in the bus, to which the driver explained that it was a strategy to prevent him from sleeping.

For his part, the Bono East Regional Fire Officer, DCFO George Anim Frimpong, said officers of his outfit had to cut through the wreckage to retrieve the dead bodies.