Road accident at Hill Station leaves about 5 dead

In the morning hours of Friday 23 September at around 7 o’clock am, a loaded truck with sand identified as ANF 796 crashed and wreaked havoc along Hill Station Peninsula Road killing 5, including two pupils, and a police officer, others in critical condition as confirmed by the police. At the time of putting this report together, police said the cause of the accident is yet to be known but they suspect it was due to brake failure.

According to an eye witness, Zainab Sesay, the incident occurred at around 7 o’clock on Friday at a time when many were on their way to work and pupils were going to school. Sesay explained that it was at that moment when a vehicle loaded with sand struggled its way for almost 100 meters before it finally hit a wall of blessing day-care Preparatory School instantly knocking out two of the pupils, their mother, and a police officer and sale man at the shop outside the school premises leaving about 5 dead.

“I saw the vehicle struggling, the driver was persistent in moving the vehicle even when noticed that there had been a technical hitch and lost and hit people who died on the spot” she added.

Speaking to this medium at the scene, the Deputy Superintendent Divisional Police Post at Hill Station, Mbalu Kabba said there are road traffic regulations condemning the plying of such vehicles on those roads, adding that an officer on duty trying to stop the vehicle also died along with others.

“The driver disobeyed road signs. Those vehicles were not supposed to ply this route but they are very stubborn and when such an incident occurs they always blame it for failure. We intervened immediately when we heard about the accident and tried to remove the bodies. A colleague also died during the accident” she explained.

According to the Route Commander, Superetident, Jusu Fayia, Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA), the occurrence of the sad event cannot be blamed on the road construction but on the attitude of drivers.

“SLRSA has embarked on several public sensitizations on how road users, drivers, pedestrians, riders may use the road that can be safe for them”, he said.

The bodies seem to be at the Choithram Hospital where Beyond Borders attempted to speak to the health personnel but were not granted any interview.

By Mohamed Amara Gando