Preliminary investigations conducted into the cause of Accra-Cape Coast highway accidents revealed that some drivers have been taking substances such as toffees laced with Indian hemp, Winneba Municipal Command of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has said.
This substance, GNFS said impaired the vision of the drivers, especially those who drive Mercedes Sprinter and 207 buses thereby causing road crashes, leading to deaths and injuries.
According to GNFS, the drivers have been consuming enhancement substances to enable them drive for longer hours but end up blurring their vision.
The Winneba Municipal Fire Commander, DOIII Kwesi Hughes made this disclosure when speaking on 3 FM on Monday April 25 when narrating how two separate accidents on the Cape Coast-Accra stretch of the highway which caused injury to 46 passengers over the weekend.
He said that “the drivers of this sprinter buses take in substance which is an abuse.
“So their blood is hot. They take in wee toffee so the police can go underground and do investigations to check”.
He explained that “when they sit behind the wheels, they are just chasing money”.
“A sprinter can over take 15 cars at a go. Look, I have been using this stretch on a daily or weekly basis and what I sometimes see, it is very bad”.
He advised drivers to avoid drinking alcohol and indulging in substance abuse when driving, to prevent road crashes.
A total of 48 passengers got involved in two separates accidents on the aforementioned highway
They were sent to the Winneba Trauma and Specialist Hospital in the two separate accidents.
The first accident happened at Gomoa Mpota, the second happened at Gomoa Mankessim in the Central Region.
According to police, all the two separate accidents, involving five vehicles, had two Sprinter Benz buses.
The first which had three vehicles involved a Sprinter Benz bus, a KIA Rhino and a DAF Trailer while the second had a Sprinter Benz Bus with the registration number GN-2572-10 from Cape Coast to Accra burst its tyre and somersaulted in the process.
