Story: News Desk
The driver Mr Dzidotor received a sentence of 100 penalty units, equivalent to a potential 20-month prison term if he defaulted after pleading guilty to the charge of careless and inconsiderate driving, a violation of Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 683 (2004), as amended by Act 761 of 2008.
On the charge of unauthorised stopping, he was sentenced to 20 penalty units, or a five-month jail term in default.
The third charge was for causing unlawful damage, contrary to Section 172b of the Criminal Offences Act 2960. He pleaded guilty and was slapped with a six-month sentence with hard labour.
The fourth charge was for failing to produce a driver’s license, contrary to regulation 47(2) of LI 21(80). Mr Dzidotor pleaded not guilty, asserting that his license was within the damaged vehicle.
Background
In a press statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Railways Development explained that as the train approached the curve at Km76+100, it encountered a stationary vehicle obstructing the rail track, resulting in the accident.
It said despite the immediate application of the emergency braking system, the train was unable to come to a complete stop before crashing into the truck.
The Ghana Police Service later announced the arrest of the driver of the Hyundai truck with registration number GS 9018 – 20.
Preliminary investigations established that Dzidotor left the truck unattended on the railway line, leading to the collision with the new Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) train.
