TWO PERSONS, including a pregnant woman, died on Tuesday morning following a gory vehicular accident involving three vehicles, which occurred at Buoho on the Kumasi/Offinso main road.
One of the vehicles involved in the fatal accident, a mini bus with registration number AS 3216 N, hit and trapped the pregnant woman who was walking by the shoulder of the road, leading to her death.
The other deceased, a male, who was onboard the mini bus which was from Kumasi heading towards Offinso, died at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) where he and other injured persons had been rushed for medical care.
Other passengers onboard the mini bus which crashed head-on with a tipper truck with registration number GR 7872 V, from the Offinso direction, suffered severe injuries and are currently receiving medical attention at KATH and other hospitals in the area.
Narrating what caused the accident, Richard Karikari of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), said the horrific incident which involved a tipper truck, mini bus and Opel Vectra taxi with registration number AS 4798 U, occurred around 8:30 a.m.
According to him, the taxi was parked on the shoulder of the road, the mini bus was from the Kumasi direction and the tipper truck was coming from the Offinso area.
The driver of the mini bus, upon reaching Buoho, attempted to overtake a car which was in front of his and upon doing so, the driver saw the tipper truck advancing at top speed.
Sensing danger, the driver of the tipper truck started to blow his horn to warn the advancing mini bus which had by then taken over the street of the tipper truck, to give way.
The driver in charge of the taxi, which was parked at the roadside, saw the danger ahead and quickly jumped from his car and ran for dear life.
Minutes after the taxi driver had jumped out, the mini bus and the tipper truck crashed heavily. The impact was so strong that both cars hit the taxi.
The mini bus which was destroyed beyond repairs, landed on a pregnant lady who was walking by the road.
It took the intervention of the Road Safety Management Services towing car before the mini bus could be lifted from the dead pregnant woman.
Karikari described earlier reports that about eight people had died in the accident as untrue, tasking radio stations in the city to refrain from causing false alarm.
The NRSC staff cautioned drivers against parking their cars close to the road since it could cause accidents and claim innocent lives.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi