Independent committee to investigate fatal accident

Sunyani, Nov. 12, GNA - An independent committee would be set up to investigate the fatal accident that occurred at Twimea Nkwanta in the Techiman Municipality at the weekend, in which 23 persons perished. Mr Noble Appiah, Executive Director of the National Road Safety Commission disclosed this to newsmen in Sunyani on Tuesday, after he had visited the bereaved families to console them.

Twenty persons died on the spot and three others later at the Holy Family hospital in Techiman, when a 207 Mercedes Benz bus on which they were travelling collided with a KIA truck that was loaded with sawn timber.

The accident was reported to have occurred at about 1700 hours last Saturday, when a task force of the Forestry Services Division (FSD) that included some soldiers chased the KIA truck with registration number AS 1627 V.

Mr Appiah said the committee, which would consist of a psychologist, mechanical engineer, an engineer of the Ghana Highways Authority and a member of the Commission would take about a month to complete its investigations.

He explained that the report of the committee would help in policy making and public education on road safety. The Executive Director stated that the constitution of the Commission demanded an independent investigation into any tragic accident that would claim about five lives. Mr Appiah urged the police to check and arrest vehicles that plied the roads without reflectors and warning triangles, saying that, on his way from Accra to Sunyani, he counted about 47 broken down vehicles that had not erected warning triangles. These are some of the avoidable mistakes committed by drivers that result in loss of lives and properties, he said. The executive director cautioned the media to avoid publishing speculations about the Techiman accident, but to leave the matter to the security to conduct their investigations and come out with a professional report. 12 Nov. 08