Tatale-Zabzugu Highway Tragedy: 3 Dead, 10 Injured as Kia Truck Slams into Parked Tricycle Amid Visibility Nightmare
A heart-wrenching road accident on the Tatale-Zabzugu highway late Friday night has claimed three lives and left over 10 market traders in serious condition, spotlighting the deadly risks of unlit breakdowns on Ghana’s poorly maintained northern routes
. The collision, which occurred around 10:00 p.m. on October 24 near Kukpalgu, involved a Kia truck (GW-5828-17) loaded with passengers returning from the bustling market, plowing into a stationary Motorking tricycle that had broken down without warning lights or reflectors.
Eyewitnesses described a scene of utter chaos: the truck’s driver, blinded by glaring headlights from an oncoming vehicle from Zabzugu, failed to spot the hazard until it was too late, resulting in a high-impact crash that ejected passengers and crumpled the vehicles.
“The lights from that vehicle were like spotlights— the driver couldn’t see the tricycle until he hit it,” recounted trader Akosua Abiba, who lost a cousin in the wreck. Two victims perished instantly at the scene, while a third succumbed upon arrival at Tatale District Hospital, where the 10+ injured—suffering fractures, lacerations, and internal trauma—are battling for survival in overcrowded wards.
The tricycle, a common sight for rural haulers ferrying goods like yams and shea butter, had been abandoned without flares or markers—a violation of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2180)—exacerbating the peril on the N10 highway, notorious for its potholes and low visibility, claiming 150 lives in the North East Region alone this year per MTTD data.
The truck driver, now under police guard, faces charges of dangerous driving, with initial probes pointing to fatigue and poor road lighting as factors.
Local authorities, including the Tatale District Chief Executive, have decried the “preventable carnage” and renewed calls for mandatory reflective gear and emergency kits for breakdowns, echoing the National Road Safety Commission’s 2024 campaign that reduced fatalities by 12% but faltered in rural stretches.
