Truck driver who caused train accident jailed 6 months

The driver of the truck abandoned on the Tema-Mpakadan railway line that led to Thursday’s train crash has been jailed for six months.

Abel Dzidotor, 41, faces additional punishment should he fail to produce his driver’s licence as ordered by the court.

The accident involved a new train government procured from Poland which was undergoing a test run within the Asuogyaman District on Thursday, April 18.

Abel Dzidotor was convicted and sentenced on Friday, April 19, after admitting guilt to three out of the four charges leveled against him.

He was charged with inconsiderate driving and causing unlawful damage, among others.

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.

Read also: New Ghana train on test run involved in 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.

Read also: Police arrest truck driver alleged to have caused train crash

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.