Driver in accident that killed 34 people banned for life

On December 11, 2020, 2:58 PM

The driver whose negligence caused the Dompoase accident in the Central Region that claimed 34 lives in January will spend the next five years in jail.

The Cape Coast Circuit Court on Thursday found Mireku Mark, 45, guilty of 34 counts of dangerous driving and negligently causing harm after he pleaded guilty.

Apart from his time in jail, he will also never be allowed behind the wheels of a commercial vehicle, as the court banned him for life.

His woes also include paying GH₵ 17,280 in fines or in default spend another two years in jail.

When Mark reappeared before the court, the prosecution led by the State Attorney, Joyce Odame, demanded a higher sentence for the man who was arrested in January this year.

On the day the court determined his faith, the convict became sober and gloomy. He occasionally buried his face in his palm.

He was lost between folding his arms across his chest, clasping his fingers or having his arms behind him.

The presiding judge bemoaned the recklessness on the country’s roads and told the low-spirited convict that “your one mistake caused the lives of 34 people.”

READ: SPECIAL REPORT: The Faces Behind The Fatality Statistics In Dompoase Road Carnage

On January 14, 2020, aT least 34 persons were crashed to death in a head-on collision when a driver of one of the vehicles decided to do an over-taking.

That highway is practically blind, enveloped in the darkness in the absence of street lights.

The indiscretion of the over-taking was apparent in seconds at Dompoase, a town on the Accra-Elmina Highway in the Central Region.

According to an eyewitness, the accident happened around 4:50 am on when a Takoradi-bound bus with registration number GR 5704-18 tried to overtake but failed and collided with a Cape Coast-bound vehicle with registration number GN 3780-10.

The indiscretion of the over-taking was apparent in seconds at Dompoase, a town on the Accra-Elmina Highway in the Central Region.

The eyewitness said both drivers lost their lives immediately with one of them having his head completely chopped off and the rest of his body trapped in the mangled vehicle.