The High Court in Accra has remanded four people involved in an accident in which a new Diesel Combined Unit (DMU) 001 train from Tema to Mpakadan collided head-on with an abandoned truck on the tracks in Abotia area.
Four gas welders, Koko Koujo. Mr Patrick Kwaku Sosu, Mr Alaza Prosper and Mr Fidugbe Emmanuel, all workers, are suspected of aiding and abetting a convicted driver, Abel Ziditor, who abandoned his truck on the railway.
According to court documents, the four were passengers with the convicted driver when the truck became stuck on the tracks and decided to abandon it.
The document further states that the four decided to use the railway line as a shortcut to reach Juapong, even though they were fully aware that the line was not accessible by car.
“Even if the truck had succeeded in crossing the railroad tracks, the defendants would not have been able to enter the access road because of the large ditch and stream on the west side of the tracks,” the documents state. did.
They were charged with one count of abetting unlawful damage and the court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marufo reserved their plea as the prosecution prayed the court not to entertain the plea to allow further investigation.
The new train will be manufactured by Poland’s Pesa and will be delivered in early April 2024, making it Ghana’s first diesel train.
The railway is intended to serve the newly built Tema-Mpakadan standard gauge railway line, transporting passengers from Mpakadan to Tema Port, and switch to narrow gauge line when heading to Accra.
The truck was damaged beyond repair, but the train sustained minor damage, which authorities say can be repaired in Ghana.
On April 19, 2024, the Juapon Circuit Court of the Eastern Region sentenced 41-year-old truck driver Abel Zidotor to six months in prison.
This was after he pleaded guilty to three of the four charges, including reckless driving and causing unlawful damage.
He was sentenced to 100 fine units (1,200 Grincents) for careless and imprudent driving, 20 fine units (240 Grincents) for unlawful stopping, and six months’ imprisonment at hard labor for causing unlawful damage. .
Following further investigation, four others were hauled before the Accra High Court, where they are charged with abetting a driver to cause unlawful damage to a train.
Court documents state that on April 18, 2024, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., the defendants were in a Hyundai Gold truck with registration number GS 9018-20, driven by Jidotr Abel. .
It said preliminary investigations revealed that Jidotul Abel purchased some blocks from a block factory in Juapon and transported them to Abotia using a railway underpass.
According to the documents, the defendants were in the vehicle with the defendants and after removing blocks from the property, they decided to cross the railroad tracks in their vehicle, avoiding under the bridge.
When the four accused reached the railway line and realized that it was impossible to cross the railway line, they collected stones from the side of the railway line and placed them on the railway line as a path for the truck. I’ll cross.
However, the truck was still stuck on the tracks. The defendants tilted the truck’s head and left the scene without giving any warning to the train traveling on the tracks.
Investigation revealed that there was no access route to Juapon Road beyond the railroad tracks, and even if the truck were able to safely cross the tracks, a large ditch and stream on the west side of the railroad tracks would have prevented the defendants from entering. It became clear that it would be. Join the Axe-Juapong road.
Written by Jibril Abdul Razak