Pupil Killed By School Bus

The FZB truck

RESIDENTS OF Dominase in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) Municipality of the Central Region last Thursday received the shocks of their lives when a five-year-old boy, Isaac Cudjoe, a pupil of Oxford Preparatory School in Kissi, met his untimely death when he fell from a school bus and died instantly.

According to eyewitness, the bus, which was conveying the pupils from school to their various homes, after they had closed from school, was in a very bad condition.

The body of little Cudjoe has since been deposited at the Central Regional Hospital morgue for autopsy while the 32-year-old driver, Joseph Arthur, has been arrested by the Elmina Police Command.

Arthur will soon be arraigned before the Elmina magistrate court to be charged with the offence.

An eyewitness, who briefed DAILY GUIDE, said the incident happened around 3.30 pm when Cudjoe and his friends were being transported from school to their various homes in the bus with registration number GR 4305 K. He said the bus was moving at top speed to Enyinase, a suburb of Komenda.

The source further hinted that Cudjoe got trapped in the bus because the floor of the bus was rotten. The school authorities had covered the floor with plywood.

The source added that Cudjoe accidently stepped on the wood, which got broken instantly. This led to his fall from the bus.

Sources further revealed that the bus ran over Cudjoe’s head, with his teeth and eyes scattered on the road.

Information gathered revealed that the seats in the bus were also rusted.

Investigations conducted by DAILY GUIDE indicated that Cudjoe was the only child of the parents.

In a related development, a Daewoo mini-pickup with registration number GE 1263 Z, loaded with pawpaw from Agona Swedru in the Central Region and heading towards the Western Region on Saturday, nearly collided with an articulated truck with registration number FZB 132 Z, belonging to Free Zones Board (FZB) at Sehwi-Komenda in KEEA.

The names of the drivers and pawpaw owner were not given to the press by the Elmina Municipal Police Command due to security reasons.

According to eyewitnesses, the Daewoo driver lost control of steering, which compelled the tyres of the car to bust, resulting in the vehicle somersaulting in the middle of the road, with the pawpaw scattered all over.

The source told DAILY GUIDE that both the Daewoo driver and the woman believed to be the owner of the pawpaw sustained minor injuries. They were quickly rushed to the Central Regional Hospital for treatment.

Eyewitnesses who briefed the paper said the articulated truck, which was heading towards Cape Coast, upon seeing the Daewoo in the middle of the road, tried to swerve but unfortunately landed in a nearby bush.

DAILY GUIDE can confirm that no death was recorded as previously announced by some radio and television stations.

From Sarah Afful & Desmond K. Dapaah, Elmina