2 Legon students die in accident

Lordina Fobih, one of the two students involved

TWO female students of the University of Ghana, Legon, died in an accident at Okponglo Junction, near the university in Accra, early yesterday morning when the taxi on which they were travelling collided with a refuse truck at the junction where the amber lights of the six traffic lights were blinking simultaneously.

The blinking of the amber lights meant that drivers should drive cautiously, since any of them could cross the intersection.

The two, Lordina Fobih, 19, and Deborah Akosua-Denkyiraa Benaye, 18, both Level 100 students and residents of the Elizabeth Sey Frances Hall, were said to be returning to the campus around 1:30 a.m. after socialisation when the incident occurred.

Lordina was identified as a daughter of Professor Dominic Fobih, a Minister for Lands, Mines and Forestry in the erstwhile Kufuor administration.

The driver of the taxi, with registration number GE 4707-12, Gilbert Darko, 26, is in critical condition at the 37 Military Hospital.

The bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the 37 Military Hospital mortuary.

When the Daily Graphic visited the scene yesterday afternoon, scores of students and residents of the area had visited the accident scene to see the mangled cab.

The Legon District Police Commander, Chief Supt Frank Anning, who confirmed the accident to the Daily Graphic, said the taxi driver, who was travelling from Bawaleshi towards the university campus, collided with the refuse truck, with registration number GE 645 X, at the traffic intersection which had amber (yellow) on display at the time.

According to Mr Anning, the refuse truck, which was travelling from Madina towards the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange, rammed into the taxi and dragged it along the road to the bus stop near the University of Ghana Sports Complex, killing the two students instantly.

The driver of the refuse truck, Kwaku Ababio, who escaped unhurt, has been arrested by the police pending investigations.

Supt Anning expressed worry at the increasing impatience among motorists, even at night, and cautioned commuters to be extra careful when driving at night to avoid such mishaps.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Sat, Jan 19, 2013