Unknown street vendor in Kumasi was killed by an articulated truck after being crushed to death. According to eyewitnesses, if the driver hadn't been so delicate, many more people—including pedestrians—might have perished as a result of the area's intense traffic congestion.
According to reports, the accident happened on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at around 5.30 am.
It occurred in the Kumasi Metropolis's "Dr. Mensah" neighbourhood, a part of the Manhyia Sub Metro. The articulated vehicle with the registration number GT 7452 Y is one of several such heavy duty trucks that had arrived to transfer bales of used clothing to dealers in their stores close to Manhyia, according to eye witnesses' accounts.
When GBCNEWS happened to come across the incident, it was discovered that the victim was a hawker on the one-lane road connecting the Apagyafie neighbourhood near Manhyia to Kejetia.
The lady, who has not yet been named, is one of several who have started arriving before daybreak every day to sell goods along that section of the winding route.
According to reports, she was selling cucumber and cabbage among other people. A few of the accident's eye witnesses described the circumstances to GBCNEWS.
The victim's corpse was severely disfigured and only the arms and legs remained for identification after the truck, which is alleged to have lost its break, dragged her for nearly 50 meters before it could stop.
The remains were still beneath the truck when GBCNEWS left the site at around 7 a.m. as shocked onlookers, including her fellow street hawkers, departed in alarm.
The driver of the fully laden articulated truck had allegedly gone to the police station to file an official complaint about the catastrophe so that the law would take action.
The most recent incident, however, followed a similar tragedy that occurred nearby roughly nine months ago when a young woman pedestrian was struck from behind by a trotro bus.
The lady had been forced to contend with cars on that section of the road due to the occupancy of the sidewalk by walkers.
For some years now, the stretch from the Apagyafie at Manhyia to the Kejetia Market area has been among Kumasi's most heavily packed regions, with practically pedestrian traffic,The municipal officials seldom show any concern as pavements are completely taken over by hawkers, travelling gospel preachers, orphanage representatives begging for charity, beggars, and money changers.
Pedestrians are left to their own devices and, particularly during peak hours, fiercely contend with cars, motorized tricycles, and other road users for space.
Despite the risks associated with hawking along the roads, the vendors are adamant and either blame the city administration or, in an effort to provide for their own families and children, have rejected any suggestions that they leave.
Following the most recent tragedy, some of the hawkers and eyewitnesses spoke with GBCNEWS.
A construction worker at the Total Fuel Station at 'Dr. Mensah' Mohammed Alhassan claimed he had been pleading with the hawkers operating behind the iron sheet barrier to relocate but that they would not budge.
Madam Mercy Appiah, a hawker who also sells her goods near the scene of the tragedy, says "if we had been provided a decent place to sell and pay fees, we'd have relocated."
A similar accident occurred at the Suame Roundabout approximately six months ago. This is another suburb where street hawking is prevalent, despite the fact that municipal officials at one point pushed them out of the area; nonetheless, they had to find their way back, unlike along the 'Dr. Mensah'-Kejetia region.
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