Driver sentenced for knocking down and killing woman, 85

A commercial driver was on Tuesday fined GH¢1,920.00 by an Accra Circuit Court for knocking down and killing an 85-year-old woman on the spot

He will in default serve six months imprisonment in hard labour.

Charles Boye Sowah was arraigned for reckless driving and negligently causing harm.

He pleaded guilty to the offenses and was convicted accordingly.

His lawyer, Yaw Dankwah, pleaded with the Court presided over by Madam Marian Affoh to change the plea but the judge refused the application with the explanation that the case had travelled beyond the trial stage.

He therefore pleaded for mitigation since Sowah had shown remorse, had cooperated with the deceased’s family since the accident occurred in 2016, he had also bore all the deceased family’s expenses, though not required by the law and that Sowah was the one taking care of the dependants of the deceased.

Lawyer Dankwah said his client pleaded guilty to the charges in order not to waste the Court’s time and also not to “insult” the bereaved family.

He pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy by not giving him a custodial sentence because, the man, apart from being the sole bread winner of his family, would not be able to cater for the deceased dependants.

Police Chief Inspector Emmanuel Ohene Agyei told the Court that on January 21, 2016, at about 0520 hours, Sowah was in charge of DAF Convoy commercial car with the registration number GR 6830 14 from Teshie to Accra on the Teshie-La Dual Carriage-Way.

On reaching the Omanye Art Gallery, he knocked and killed a female adult pedestrian, Dorcas Kabukor Assem, 85, who was then crossing the road.

Dorcas sustained multiple fractures in her legs and died instantly.

Sowah was arrested and after investigations, a duplicate docket was forwarded to the Attorney General for advice.

It was recommended that Sowah be charged with the offences.