Three survivors of the gory accident, which occurred on the Kintampo-Techiman highway last Friday have attributed the cause of the accident to over-speeding and negligence of one of the drivers.
They blamed the driver of the KIA Grandbird with registration number GT 5694-18 traveling from Garu in the Upper East Region to Kumasi, which caught fire due to the impact of the crash.
The gory accident at Amoma-Nkwanta near Jema in the Kintampo South District of Bono East Region involved in a head-on collision of two commercial buses, the KIA Grandbird and a KIA VVIP bus with registration number GT 3916-17 from Accra to Bolgatanga and claimed more than 60 lives including children.
One of the victims, Ernest Attamira, 47, currently on admission at the Techiman Holy Family Hospital, explained that the KIA Grandbird driver who also died was driving recklessly throughout the journey.
He said the passengers who were not happy advised the driver to reduce the speed, but he did not heed to the advice, a situation, which generated argument between some of the passengers and the driver.
Narrating the sad story during a visit to the Hospital by the Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah and the Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Atta, the accident victim said he lost his six-year-old boy who was also burnt beyond recognition.
He said at a certain point, some of the passengers realised that the driver was tired and was dozing but they could not muster courage to confront him because he (driver) was very angry due to the argument which had earlier ensued between them.
Another victim, Ramatu Issaka, 55, who could not control her tears, said she was traveling with her three grandchildren and all of them did not survive the accident. But one of the victims was in critical condition at the emergency unit of the Hospital.
The Deputy Director of Nursing at the Hospital, Reverend Sister Catherine Osei, expressed worry that accidents on that particular road remained the highest cause of deaths recorded at the Hospital. She said the level of injuries sustained by most of the accident victims, brought to the facility were very serious and advised drivers against over-speeding on that highway.
Mr. Asiamah noted that the crash would have been avoided if the passengers were bold to confront the driver, and advised passengers not to be “timid” but report careless drivers to the Police.
He expressed concern over drug abuse among some commercial drivers and advised passengers to help monitor and check drivers against that and alcoholism. The Ministers later visited the Jema Government Hospital where the bodies of the deceased (not burnt) were deposited and proceeded to the Muslim cemetery in the town to observe a minute silence for the repose of the souls of the 39 victims who were given mass burial.
The Medical Officer in charge of the Hospital Dr. Prince Kwabena Tabiri, said most of the relatives had come for their bodies, and only four of the bodies were left at the Hospital’s mortuary.