38 injured in road accident at Ayi Mensah

At least 38 people narrowly escaped death but sustained minor injuries when a Metro Mass Transit (MMT) bus rammed into five other vehicles at the Ayi Mensah Police tollbooth, on the Adentan-Aburi Highway, on Saturday.

The bus with registration number GS 3251-12, conveying 30 passengers from Aburi to Accra, was descending the Aburi Mountains when the brakes failed, crashing into the other vehicles.

Aside, the three saloon cars and a mini Kia truck that were partly damaged, the fifth vehicle, a KIA truck with registration number GR 9013-17, loaded with three giant polytanks full of water, had its bucket dislodged from the frame of the vehicle with the water spilling.

The accident, which happened at about 2:30 pm sent motorists and hawkers close to the tollbooth running for their lives.

When the Ghanaian Times arrived at the scene around 4:00 pm, some of the panic onlookers were discussing the miraculous escape of the passengers, while the Ayi Mensah Police were also there on time to assist in dislodging the Metro Mass Transit bus that was entangled with the truck due to the impact of the hit.

Though the police declined to comment on the accident, the driver of the bus, Isaac Ampiah, told the Ghanaian Times that he left Aburi without any fault on the vehicle.

According to him, after descending the Peduase Lodge in a curve, he realised the brakes had ceased working.

Mr Ampiah said he did his best avoid running into oncoming vehicles.

“About 300 metres to the tool both, I saw the mounting traffic and I realised if I tried to use the route, the casualties would be a national disaster and I had to veer off the normal lane and took the opposite lane, which was not that busy”, He told the Ghanaian Times.

Mr Ampiah said stated that the KIA truck loaded with polytanks full of water saved the situation when the bus got stocked to the truck.

The driver of the KIA truck, Jerry Ayorkor, said he was about to pay for his ticket at the toll booth when he saw the bus heading in his direction.

He said the street hawkers raised the alarm, and he took to his heels, abandoning his vehicle, else he would have died in the head on collision.

Ms Afi Mawuli, an eye witness, said she and others raised the alarm when they realised that the movement of the bus was not normal.

All vehicles involved in the accident have been towed to the Ayi Mensah District Police station.