More than three persons have sustained severe injuries, whilst four others narrowly escaped unhurt, after heavy timber logs fell from a haulage truck onto two vehicles along New Road in the Oforikrom Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
The accident, which occurred in broad daylight, has sparked fresh concerns regarding road safety and the hazardous transportation of heavy goods across the municipality.
Narrating the terrifying ordeal, one of the affected drivers, Kwame Adu Brefo, revealed that the traffic lights at the busy intersection were non-functional at the time of the crash, forcing an officer from the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) to direct traffic manually.
According to Mr Brefo, the truck carrying the massive timber logs was blaring its horn continuously before crashing into his vehicle, causing its heavy load to unseat and spill over.
“The traffic light was not working, so the MTTD officer was controlling the traffic. The truck was blowing its horn and hit my car, and all of a sudden, the timber started falling off the truck,” he recounted.
He added that the falling logs crushed two vehicles positioned directly in front of the truck.
Three occupants who sustained various degrees of injury were swiftly rushed to a nearby medical facility for emergency treatment. Fortunately, four other passengers managed to escape the scene without any injuries.
Personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) alongside the Police MTTD arrived promptly at the scene to rescue trapped victims, clear the scattered logs, and restore the flow of traffic.
Following the harrowing incident, Mr Brefo urged the relevant authorities to strictly enforce safety regulations on the transportation of timber and other heavy materials to avert future disasters.
He further appealed to the Department of Urban Roads to urgently repair the faulty traffic signals in the area to prevent similar life-threatening accidents.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana