Three pedestrians killed in car racing near Burma Camp
Three innocent persons died while three others are battling for survival after they were knocked down by a car engaged in a racing competition at the 37 Lorry Station area in Accra.
They were killed by an over speeding Toyota Camry Salon car with registration number GR- 1708 -21 driving from the Trade Fair direction and heading towards the 37 roundabout, which lost control and crashed.
Together with a Mercedes Benz saloon car, the drivers defied road regulation and engaged in a competition within the high-security military zone where the Burma Camp is also located.
The incident occurred at about 8:30 PM on Wednesday, April 14, the same day two persons lost their lives in an accident at Tesano in Accra, making it 17 deaths within two days.
Upon approaching the 37 lorry station, and as a result of excessive speed, the driver of the Toyota Camry lost control of the steering and crashed into the nearside pavement close to the station’s entrance.
The same stretch has the Base Ordnance Depot, where the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) houses some logistics.
In the process, the Toyota Camry knocked down a male adult yoghurt seller and an elderly woman killing them on the spot.
The vehicle spun further on the pavement to knock down four male adult pedestrians walking on the pavement, the Ghana Police Service explained.
The Mercedes Benz, however, sped off.
The casualties were rushed to the 37 Military Hospital for treatment, but one died on arrival, and the other three who are in critical condition are responding to treatment.
The bodies of the first two victims were deposited at the Police Hospital mortuary, while the third body was deposited at the 37 Military Hospital mortuary awaiting identification, preservation and autopsy.
The Toyota Camry has been impounded, and the driver, Richmond Tsame, has been detained by police.
Raod fatalities claim 17 lives in two days
The recent accident makes it 17 road fatalities across the country.
Two people died in a car crash on the Circle-Achimota Highway close to the Tesano police station earlier on the same day at about 4:30 am.
The accident occurred after a commercial vehicle (trotro) rammed into a faulty trailer parked in the middle of the road at about
The trailer driver failed to place any sign indicating that his vehicle had broken down, according to eyewitnesses.
The trotro driver, on top speed, could not see the stationary truck, which carried a Togolese number plate, resulting in the crash.
Eleven died on the spot, including an eight-year-old girl at Alipe in the Central Gonja District of the Savannah Region.
A Toyota minibus with registration number AS 2872-20 veered off its lane and collided head-on with a DAF tipper truck with registration number NR 578 loaded with sand.
There were 18 persons on board travelling from Tamale to Kumasi.
The driver of the minibus was one of the people who died on the spot.
2021 accident mortalities exceed COVID-19 deaths
A total of 771 persons have died through road accidents for the first quarter of 2021.
This surpassed the COVID-19 related deaths of 752 at the end of the same period.
The figure, according to the Ghana Police Service, is a significant increase in the 393 cases recorded in the same period 2020.
Out of the 771 deaths recorded, the Ashanti region recorded the highest, with 171 deaths with 1,064 injured, followed by the Greater Accra region, 146 deaths, and 732 injuries.
Central, Savannah, Bono, and Upper East regions respectively follow in terms of the number of casualties while the North East Region recorded only 3 deaths.
2020 accidents
The country recorded the highest road traffic fatalities in the last 30 years due to increasing motorcycle accidents in 2020.
Motorcycle accidents contributed approximately 40% to the total deaths in the last year.
Provisional data for 2020 showed that 2,589 lives were lost to road crash across the country despite movement restrictions due to COVID-19.
This figure represents a 13% rise compared to the 2,284 registered in 2019.
It was also consistent with high fatalities associated with election years as citizens hit the polls in December 2020.
Road fatalities in 2020 is the highest in the last three decades.
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