EPILEPTIC DRIVER IN ACCIDENT (PAGE 35, MIRROR)

From George Ernest Asare, Kumasi

A Kumasi-based Nissan Urvan bus driver, apparently seized by epilepsy during a journey between Kejetia and Santansi, and at a time that his leg was right on the accelerator, drove directly into a tree, causing severe damage to the vehicle and seriously injuring himself and three passengers.
The driver, George Adjei, who also sustained multiple head and body injuries, together with the three passengers, is on admission at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
The passengers who sustained injuries and are said to be in critical condition, have been identified as Abena Gyamfua, Charles Frimpong and Samuel Owusu.
Police investigations revealed that the driver had the epileptic seizure at a time he was descending a hill and his right leg directly on top of the accelerator pedal.
According to the police although the bus was fully loaded, it was only the driver and the three passengers who were seriously injured, while the others had minor injuries and were treated and discharged when they were rushed to hospital.
The Ashanti Regional Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) Police Commander, Superintendent James Sarfo Pepra, who briefed The Mirror about the incident, said Adjei with 15 years’ driving experience, was given the minibus barely a week ago, and prior to that, the owner had inspected his license and only gave the vehicle to him when she was convinced that he had enough driving experience.
He said the driver was very healthy when he set off at Kejetia around 12.20 p.m. on May 21, 2008, and it was moments after he had negotiated the Bekwai roundabout and was descending the hill between the Parks and Gardens and the Electricity Company of Ghana office that he had the epileptic seizure.
“His leg was by then right on the accelerator, so the vehicle was moving very fast, causing the vehicle to veer off the road and run into the big tree”, he added.
Commenting on the incident, the medical officer in charge of the Sofoline Government Hospital, Dr Kwabena Opoku Adusei, said cases of such nature occur on the highways occasionally.
He pointed out that most of such accidents are fatal, leading also to the loss of property, adding that to address it, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) should as a matter of urgency, initiate the policy of verifying the health status of drivers anytime they issue them a license or renew it.
He says testing the sight of drivers is not enough in the issuance of a licence. “They ought to be medically examined fully to ensure that they are very healthy before the licence is issued. This is because those who have such problems put their lives and those of other road users at great risk”, he pointed out.