Kumasi Police arrest accident driver

Kumasi, July 18, GNA - The Kumasi Police has arrested the articulated truck driver's mate, who allegedly drove the truck carelessly into the 207 Mercedes Benz bus and killed 18 people on the spot at the Santasi Roundabout in Kumasi on Saturday evening. Chief Superintendent Augustine Gyening, Ashanti Regional Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) Commander, who made this known in an interview in Kumasi on Monday, said the mate reported himself to the Police on Sunday morning and was placed in Police custody for further investigations.

He said it was alleged that the suspect had had a quarrel with his master and in an angry mood drove the truck carelessly resulting in the accident.

Superintendent Gyening, who did not mention the name of the suspect, said the Police were still investigating to find out whether he had a driving licence.

He said the driver of the bus, who was still in a critical condition at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), was also needed to help the Police in their investigations. Eighteen members of the Santasi branch of the Deeper Christian Life Ministries, who were returning from a funeral died on the spot, when the articulated truck skidded off its lane and hit the bus on the other lane.

The victims had attended a funeral of a colleague's relative at Asonomaso in the Kwabre District of Ashanti and were returning home when the accident occurred.