General News of Saturday, 9 June 2012

Source: Daily Guide

Truck runs over armed robber

A 33-YEAR-old suspected armed robber believed to be among a gang of armed robbers who have been attacking travelers on the Accra-Kumasi road has been killed by an articulator truck.

The suspect, Francis Eklu Danso, a.k.a Olele, was ran over by the articulator truck around 1:30am of May 31, 2012 at Okanta, near Nsawam, in a nearby bush where he was hiding with his gang of men.

The deceased was later found trapped under the vehicle in a supine position, holding a sharp knife.

Confirming the story to DAILY GUIDE, the Commander in charge of the Nsawam Motor Traffic and Transport Unit of the Ghana Police Service, DSP Samuel Ntosoh, said the truck, which was fully loaded with sacks of fertilizer, was being driven by one Baba from Accra towards the Western region.

On reaching Okanta area, the brakes of the Man Diesel truck failed and in order to avoid crashing into an oncoming vehicle, the driver veered off the road into a nearby bush where the criminals were hiding.

When he got down to inspect the vehicle, with registration number AS 9130P, he found a man holding a sharp knife trapped under the vehicle. The driver then reported the incident to the nearest police post.

When the police got to the scene around 2am, the suspect was already dead with his intestines gushed out through the anus. The police commander said with the help of some local residents the police managed to remove the body from underneath the vehicle.

Later investigations by the police revealed that the suspect was among the gang of armed robbers who take advantage of the bad roads and climb onto the loaded vehicles that slow down on reaching the section of the road to steal items.

The suspects are always hiding in the bush and when they hear the sound of a long vehicle, they come out with their weapons to rob. He said investigations are ongoing.

DSP Ntosoh urged drivers to be vigilant when they get to that section of the road. He also called on officials of the Ghana Highway Authority to fill the numerous potholes on the road to avoid slow vehicular movement.