The Juapong Circuit Court has sentenced a 41-year-old truck driver, who abandoned his vehicle on the Tema-Mpakadan rail line, to a six-month jail term.

Abel Dzidotor pleaded guilty to three counts of careless and inconsiderate driving, unauthorized stopping, and unlawful damage, resulting in his conviction before the court presided over by Judge Prosper Deu-Love Gormashie.

For careless and inconsiderate driving, he was fined GH₵1,200. In default he will serve a jail term of 20 months.

Unauthorized stopping incurred a fine of GH₵240 or five months' imprisonment, and unlawful damage led to a six-month imprisonment in hard labor. The sentences are to run concurrently.

The case has been adjourned to May 9, 2024.

Brief Facts

Detective Chief Inspector Abel Anane narrated that the complainants, Engineer Dr. Divine Olitey and Kwabena Bonsu, both consultants of Ghana Railways Authority residing in Tema, reported that the accused, 41-year-old Dzidotor Abel, was the driver of a Hyundai truck with registration number GS 9018-20.

On Thursday, April 18, 2024, between 0900 and 1300 hours, during a site acceptance test of the new Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) 001 from Tema to Mpakadan, the train collided with the unmanned truck stuck across the railway line at an unapproved area in Abortia, a suburb of Juapong.

The accused abandoned the truck without consideration for other road users, leading to irreparable damage to the truck and some degree of damage to the train.

The prosecutor noted that the accused driver went into hiding at Tagadzi, where he was subsequently arrested and brought before the court.