Dangerous bridge draws first blood

Daniel Nonor

 

The over head bridge under construction on the Graphic road recorded its first casualty in the early morning of Monday, when a 207 Benz bus tipped over the bridge, killing one person instantly and injuring 17 others.

The accident comes just few days after The Chronicle expressed concern about the safety on that bridge. The Chronicle had observed with concern the steep nature of the road under construction, and the possible dangers it could pose to motorists.

Inspector Edmond Evans Donkor at the Accident unit of the greater Accra Motor Traffic and Transport Unit of the Ghana Police Service, who confirmed the incident to The Chronicle, said the 207 Benz bus, with registration number AS 336V, was travelling from Ablekuma to Accra, when the accident happened around 5:30 am. The woman who lost her life in the accident is believed to be in her 40s.

Inspector Donkor said of the 23 passengers on board the bus, 17 of them, nine men and eight women, sustained various degrees of injuries and are receiving treatment at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

At the scene of the accident, a broken street light lay by the road side, while abandoned slippers and shoes, obviously belonging to the accident victims lay scattered among some seats from the bus.

At the time The Chronicle got to the scene, the bus had been towed from the scene of the accident, but passers-by were gathered at the scene discussing the accident.

On the cause of the accident, some ascribed it to the bus driver allegedly sleeping behind the steering wheels; while other narrations said the driver tried to overtake another vehicle resulting in the car to skid off the road and hitting the barricades before tipping off.

Information gathered from the MTTU indicates that the driver of the bus is still in coma. The MTTU officer told The Chronicle that they are still investigating the cause of the accident.

A Few hours after the accident, the contractors began mounting permanent metal barricades on the bridge; an action residents in the area say is long overdue.

 

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