By Collins Sarkodieh 
A deeply devastating road accident on the busy Kumasi to Accra highway has thrown the nation into mourning. Twelve travelers have been confirmed dead, and over thirty others are battling severe injuries following a massive three-vehicle collision at Odumase, near Konongo.
The tragic midnight disaster has once again raised serious national alarms regarding reckless night driving and wrongful overtaking on our major intercity corridors. Emergency response teams worked tirelessly through the dark hours to rescue survivors trapped in the mangled wreckages.
The deadly chain of events unfolded around 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday night. A DAF cargo truck loaded heavily with bags of tomatoes, bearing registration number AS 3030-23, was traveling along the highway when the driver suddenly decided to overtake another vehicle.
According to preliminary police findings, the cargo driver completely lost control of the steering wheel during the dangerous maneuver. The heavy truck veered sharply into the opposite lane, smashing head-on into a commercial passenger bus with registration number GS 3392-24, which was coming directly from Accra toward Kumasi. An empty fuel tanker traveling closely behind the cargo truck was instantly drawn into the chaotic impact.
The mechanical impact of the head-on crash turned the commercial passenger bus into twisted metal within seconds. Assistant Divisional Officer I Alex King Nartey from the Ghana National Fire Service broke down the heartbreaking identities of the deceased victims.
The casualties include eight adult males, three females, and a innocent five-year-old boy. Nine of the deceased individuals were passengers traveling inside the commercial transit bus, while all three occupants sitting inside the front cabin of the tomato cargo truck died instantly at the roadside scene.
More than thirty passengers managed to escape the mangled vehicles alive, but many remain in highly critical conditions. First responders from the National Ambulance Service and the Ghana Police Service transported thirteen heavily injured victims to the Steward Hospital at Yawkwei for immediate stabilization.
The remaining critically injured patients were rushed directly to the Konongo Government Hospital emergency ward. Medics are working around the clock to treat deep cuts and broken bones, while the bodies of the twelve deceased travelers have been deposited at the local morgue for preservation and formal identification by their grieving families.
The horrific crash caused total gridlock on the busy international highway, leaving hundreds of commercial drivers and cargo operators stranded in traffic for several hours. To make matters more chaotic for the emergency teams, another road accident occurred moments later at nearby Dadieso, stretching the rescue personnel to their absolute limits.
The Konongo Divisional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department, ASP Frank Asare Awuah, confirmed that official investigations into the root causes of both highway crashes have fully commenced. Security chiefs are warning motorists to stop speeding at night and stay strictly within their traffic lanes to prevent these avoidable, bloody national tragedies.
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