My instincts saved me from Dompoase accident - Pastor recounts

A pastor who almost lost his life in an accident on the Cape Coast-Takoradi highway 10 years ago has recounted how his instincts saved him from last week’s fatal accident on the same stretch.

Bishop Dr. Richard Ayiku says he had gone to the VVIP station at Takoradi to board a bus to Accra but on getting there, he had a feeling he didn’t need to travel at that time so he returned home, only to find out later that the bus that was loading when he got to the station had been involved in a fatal accident.

Bishop Ayiku made this revelation in an interview on Adom FM’s ‘Ekosii Sen’ last Thursday.

He said, “I was coming to Accra on Tuesday and I was going to board the same bus but when I got there, I felt I don’t have to travel at that time and went back home and later we heard the news of the accident.”

Speaking about his divine escape, Bishop Dr Richard Ayiku also recounted how he almost died in a similar accident on the same road 10 years ago when the bus he was travelling on collided with a haulage track.

“I was on the Nigeria-bound STC bus which collided with a haulage truck transporting gravels on the Dompoase road some 10 years ago but I survived by the grace of God,” he said.

The pastor who believes God saved him, said the accident which occurred around 5:00am, happened because the haulage truck was being driven by a ‘mate’ who was dozing off behind the wheels.

“The haulage truck left it’s lane and crushed into our bus just as our driver took a curve. We found out the truck was being driven by a mate because the driver was sleepy and handed the truck over to his mate who was also sleepy.”

He added that the driver of the STC bus could do nothing about the incident.

35 people lost their lives in the accident which occurred at Dompaose on Tuesday January 14. More than 50 others also sustained various degrees of injuries in the accident which involved two 60-seater buses which were travelling in the opposite direction.

Some of the injured have since been treated in discharged whilst others are still on admission at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH).

Bishop Ayiku noted that accidents on the Accra-Takoradi road could be avoided if government and various stakeholders would give the road the needed attention and facelift as it is a major road.

“We have a lot of things to learn and we have a lot of things to do as far as this road safety is concerned because why is it that accidents keep happening in the same place. We are so superstitious that we always want to pray about such things. God has given us the brain to use in situations like this.”

“Even though drivers have a role to play, the major thing is for government to give the road the needed attention because if one of them was involved in this situation they would sit up,” he added.