A 24-year-old Ford driver whose careless driving resulted in an accident at Gomoa Mprumem killing 13 people on the spot and two others later have been sentenced to five years imprisonment in hard labour by a Circuit Court in Cape Coast.
Francis Donkor, pleaded not guilty to the charges of dangerous driving and negligently causing harm but the Court presided over by Mrs. Afia Nyarko Adu-Amankwah found him guilty and sentenced him accordingly.
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Presenting the facts, the Prosecutoion led by Chief Inspector, Vincent Nyinaku said on Wednesday, March 12, 2017, the convict was driving a Ford bus with registration number CR 1292-11 from Accra to Cape Coast with thirteen passengers.
A deceased driver, Faezil Entsie Rahaman who was also driving a Mercedes Benz sprinter bus with registration number GM 1129-16 from the opposite direction towards Winneba with twenty-six passengers on board.
According to the prosecution the convict overtook three vehicles in a roll and on seeing the on-coming sprinter bus closing in on his vehicle, moved back quickly into his lane in front of an articulated truck.
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The Prosecution said Yusif Nuhu, the driver of the articulated truck was forced to apply his brakes to slow down his vehicle on seeing the speed with which the Ford driver dashed his car in his front but his truck eventually crushed into the deceased’s car.
The convict immediately sped-off from the scene of the accident but was arrested at the Biriwa Police barrier near Yamoransa in the Mfantseman Municipality.
Prosecution said thirteen passengers on board the Mercedes Benz sprinter bus died on the spot whilst the other injured occupants were sent to Winneba Municipal and Apam Catholic hospitals where two of them died later.
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According to officers of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), the Ford bus which caused the accident escaped undamaged but the truck and the sprinter bus were extensively.