9-year-old’s tragic death at Opeikuma angers residents

Four months since a 9-year-old Christiana Ayigba was knocked and killed by a vehicle due to a dysfunctional traffic light, the residents are unhappy.

She was knocked down by a speeding vehicle at Opeikuma junction in Kasoa in the Central Region. She was thrown more than 100 feet from where the car hit her.

The driver, who was on the phone whilst driving, claims she did not notice the pedestrian traffic light had turned green, and that her attention was on the dysfunctional secondary traffic light ahead.

Christiana’s father, Hope Ayigba said he was at Ablekuma, a suburb of Accra for a business transaction when he heard the news.

“When I heard the news I thought it was a minor accident, only for me to arrive at the hospital to be told she was no more”

Christiana Ayigba died on the 23rd of December and was buried seven days later. Since her demise, her family has tried to move on but Mr. Ayigba says it has been difficult.

“I always feel her presence, every morning she would wear my shirt to perform her house chores before going to school, so as soon as I see the shirt memories of her keeps popping up.”

Residents believe the little girl would have still been alive if traffic lights at the junction – which are still yet to be fixed – were functional.

“We all pay tax so they need to fix the traffic light,” a furious resident want the district authorities to fix the light.

Dysfunctional traffic lights

Local drivers who spoke to JoyNews say, a majority of the accidents that occur on that stretch are caused by new road users who are unaware of the dysfunctional traffic light.

“We the local drivers are aware the secondary traffic light is not functioning so we know how to maneuver our way around it but first-time users are not aware so that’s what causes the accident.”

Few meters away from Opeikuma junction is CP junction, where the traffic lights are functional but drivers say they are not visible.

This reporter gathered that a tipper truck veered off the road and hit the traffic light, completely dislocating it.

“It’s been a year since the incident occurred but authorities have done nothing [and] cars keep knocking down children and even pregnant women here,” a worried resident said.

Meanwhile, Assemblyman for Opeikuma, Nana Yaw Amoafo, has given another assurance that the traffic lights will be fixed by the close of this week.

“I was informed and I called the urban roads engineer, and he said by the end of this week they will by all means come and do it,” he said.

Source: Myjoyonline.com