The National Road Safety Authority has begun investigations into the deadly road crash which occurred at Dompoase in the Central Region on Tuesday.
The accident claimed 35 lives and injured dozens of other passengers.
According to the authority, the “multi-disciplinary” investigations are expected to inform the next line of “remedial actions and measures” to prevent future instances of such road crashes.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Authority said the investigation is aimed at identifying the contributory factors and other possible institutional lapses that accounted for the crash.
34 people were earlier confirmed dead while several others were reported to be in critical condition after an Intercity bus with registration number GR 5704-18 collided head-on with another bus with registration number GN 3780-10 at Dompoase near Elmina in the Central Region.
According to the Public Relations Officer for the Ghana National Fire Service, Assistant Division Officer Abdul Wasil Hudu, the crash occurred when a vehicle moving from Accra towards Takoradi attempted to overtake a vehicle ahead in a sharp curve and collided with an oncoming vehicle en route to Accra from Takoradi.
“While we commiserate with the families of victims of this incident, the Authority has pursuant to its mandate commissioned a multi-disciplinary crash investigation into the crash to determine the contributory factors and institutional lapses that may have accounted for the crash. This among others will inform remedial actions and measures,” the Road Safety Authority said in a statement.
The Road Safety Authority also disclosed that plans are in place to efficiently regulate the operations of commercial road transport organisations.
The statement added that some 13,000 high-risk commercial drivers will be trained in an effort to prevent future occurrences of such fatal incidents.
The authority is also pushing for the development of a Legislative Instrument for the regulation of road transport operators.
“The Authority will wish to assure the motoring public that, it is taking appropriate steps to exert some control on the operations of commercial (passenger and freight) road transport organisations. These steps include a vigorous sensitization of the operators of the new mandate of the Authority, training of some 13,000 high-risk commercial drivers as well as the development of a Legislative Instrument for the regulation of road transport operations pursuant to the National Road Safety Authority Act, 2019 (Act 993).”
The National Road Safety Authority, also cautioned motorists and the public to be mindful of their personal safety and that of other road users.
“In the interim, the public is reminded that road safety is a way of life that can be achieved by observing basic safety precautions on speeding, wrongful overtaking, fatigue and distractive driving, while passengers are expected to assume frontline roles by speaking up against driver misbehaviour.”
The road crash at Dompoase has been the most fatal incident recorded this year.
Some of the family members who lost their relatives in yesterday’s road crash have visited the Cape Coast Teaching hospital to identify and collect their remains of their relatives.
Clad in mourning cloths, they looked forlorn and dejected as they undertook the identification process.
Some of them, who spoke to Citi News, broke down in tears while sharing fond memories of their loved ones.
Help Identify bodies – Cape Coast hospital pleads
The Cape Coast Teaching Hospital earlier called on the public to help identify persons who were killed in Tuesday’s road crash at Dompoase in the Central Region.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, the Public Relations Officer of the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Frederick Nyankah, added that out of the 57 injured persons, over 30 of them have been treated and discharged so far.
President Nana Akufo-Addo had earlier expressed his sympathies to the families and loved ones of all persons who perished in the accident.
In a tweet, he prayed for the souls of all those who lost their lives in the crash and wished those who got injured in the crash a speedy recovery.
