By: Nicholas Osei-Wusu
A street hawker in Kumasi, yet to be identified, has been crushed to death by an articulated truck. Eye witnesses say, but for the driver’s tactfulness, a lot more people, including pedestrians could have also been killed due to the heavy human and vehicular congestion within the area of the accident known as ‘Dr. Mensah’, a suburb at Manhyia.
The accident is said to have occurred at about 5.30 am on Thursday, May 4, 2023.
According to Eye witnesses account, the articulated truck, with registration number GT 7452 Y, is one of the many such heavy duty trucks that had come to offload bales of 2nd hand clothing to dealers in their stores near Manhyia.
When GBCNEWS chanced on the situation, it was observed that, the victim, is a hawker along the single-lane road leading from the Apagyafie area near Manhyia to Kejetia.
The woman, yet to be identified, is among the numerous women who have been coming at dawn daily to hawk in various wares along that stretch of the narrow road.
She was said to be selling cabbage and cucumber together with others. Some of the eye witnesses narrated to GBCNEWS circumstances of the accident.
The victim was dragged by the truck, which is said to have lost its break, for about 50 metres before it could stop leaving her body badly mutilated with only the arms and legs left for identification.
As at the time GBCNEWS was leaving the scene at about 7am, the remains were still under the truck as the concerned members of the public, including her colleague street hawkers left in shock and sorrow gathered to ponder over the accident.
Driver of the fully loaded articulated truck was also yet to return from the Police Station where he was said to have gone to make a formal complaint about the tragedy for the law to take its cause.
Meanwhile, the latest accident is not the first to have happened within the vicinity as it follows a similar tragedy about nine months ago when a young female pedestrian was ran over from behind by a trotro bus.
The lady had been compelled by the occupation of the pedestrians’ pavement to compete with vehicles on that stretch of the road.
The stretch from the Apagyafie near Manhyia to the Kejetia Market area have for sometimes now been among the heaviest congested areas within Kumasi with almost pedestrian pavements fully taken over by hawkers, itinerant gospel preachers, representatives of orphanages begging for alms, beggars and money changers with city authorities virtually showing no concern.
Pedestrians have been left to their fate and especially in the rush hours of the day, keenly compete with vehicles, motorized tricycles and others for space on the road.
Despite the dangers involved in hawking along the roads, the hawkers remain adamant and either blame city authorities or in the quest to fend for themselves and children refused any suggestion to vacate in their own interest.
Some of the hawkers and eye witnesses spoke to GBCNEWS following the latest tragedy.
A worker at the Total Fuel Station under construction at ‘Dr. Mensah’ Mohammed Alhassan, said he has been advising the hawkers who do business behind the iron sheet fence to re-locate but they would not listen.
A hawker who also sells her wares around where the accident happened, Madam Mercy Appiah “if we had been provided a decent place to sell and pay fees, we’d have relocated.”
About six months ago, a similar accident happened at the Suame Roundabout, another suburb where street hawking is rampant even though city authorities at a point, drove them away from that area but had to find their way back unlike along the ‘Dr. Mensah’-Kejetia area.
