Late Ebony’s driver remanded into police custody

The driver of dancehall artiste, Priscilla Opoku Kwarteng, known in entertainment circles as Ebony, has been remanded by the Nkawie Circuit Court.

The court presided over by Johnson Abbey remanded the accused person Okoh Pinehas Chartey into police custody on charges of dangerous driving and driving without a licence.

Mr Chartey was hauled before court for driving a jeep with registration number AS-497-16, which was involved in the accident that claimed the lives of the bubbly musician Ebony and three others, at a spot between Nyame Bekyere and Nsuta on the Sunyani-Kumasi highway, on February 8, 2018.

He is to reappear in court on March 24, 2021.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The prosecution team led by Chief Inspector Jonas Newlove Agyei told the court the accused was driving Ebony, 20; Franklina Maame Yaa Nkansah, 27; and 29-year-old Lance Corporal Vondee Atsu Francis from Sunyani to Accra on the day of the crash.

He said when the accused person got to the spot around 11:45pm, he tried swerving a heap of sand in his lane, but ran into railings at the edge of the road, killing the three occupants of the vehicle.

The prosecutor said the accused person Chartey sustained injuries and was rushed to the Bechem Government Hospital for treatment.

Further investigations by the police indicated that the accused person’s driving license had expired on August 28, 2015, about three years before the accident.

Chief Inspector Agyei said the accused was arraigned and charged with the offense on advice from the Attorney General’s Office.