Thirteen people, including nine males and four females, died on the spot after a DAF truck carrying several bags of pepper rammed into the middle portion of a commercial bus at Ohene Nkwanta near Konongo.
Eleven initially injured people have been treated and discharged except a woman believed to be a police officer and a toddler who are still on admission.
According to the police Motor, Transport and Traffic Department, the accident occurred at 10:50 pm on the main Kumasi-Accra road.
The DAF truck loaded with over 600 bags of fresh pepper travelling from Kumasi to Accra, upon reaching a sharp curve at Ohene Nkwanta, ran into the rear of a Man Diesel Articulated truck No. GW 3569 – 13, which was ahead of him.
The DAF truck, driven by Bayiblisi Madewe, aged 38, veered off into the opposite lane and subsequently crashed into the offside portion of an oncoming OA Hyundai commercial bus with registration GT 5597-19 from Accra direction, killing thirteen people on the spot.
They include nine males and four females.
Eleven passengers, including a toddler on board the bus, sustained various degrees of injuries and were sent to nearby Konongo- Odumasi Government Hospital for treatment.
Konongo Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Shaibu Abubakar Sadique-Osei and Ashanti Regional MTTD Commander, Superintendent Emmanuel Adu Boahene, confirmed the accident.
Chief Superintendent Shaibu condemned what he says has become an accepted norm for drivers plying the Kumasi-Accra to wrongful overtake and demand that their counterparts on the opposite lane relinquish their lanes for them.
He says such attitude and fatigue is the cause of several accidents on that stretch.
Ashanti Regional MTTD Commander, Superintendent Emmanuel Adu Boahene, said the police will continue to create awareness through education.
He wants passengers to be empowered to caution and call drivers to orders when involved in reckless driving.
Meanwhile, bodies of the deceased have been deposited at Steward Hospital morgue at Yawkwei for identification and autopsy whilst the three drivers involved are in police custody.
