‘Killer’ driver jailed 4 years

The driver who crushed to death two persons and injured one other at Addo-Nkwanta near Suhum in the Eastern Region has been jailed four (4) years by the Koforidua Circuit Court “B”.

The Court also entered other consequential orders including payment of a total of Gh18,000 to each of the accident victims as medical expenses and also a fine of Ghc1,800 which in default he serves 8 months additional prison sentence for deceiving public officers.

The convict pleaded guilty to 10 charges pressed against him by the Prosecutor, Assistant State Attorney, Dickson Donkor and was convicted on his own plea.

The families of the victims on October 12, 2017, protested and interrupted court proceedings at the Suhum Circuit Court after the judge granted bail to the convict alleged to be notorious for hit and run accidents.

The Eastern Regional Attorney General’s Office took over the prosecution and Filed a Nolle Prosequie at the Suhum and Asamankese Circuit Courts where the Convict and his accomplice were standing trial. Both were rearrested and put before the Circuit Court ‘B’ Koforidua presided over by Her Honour Justice Janet Animah Marfo.

The facts of the case as presented by the Prosecutor are that, on October 4, 2017, at about 9:30 pm, the convict driver, Solomon Adjololo was driving an unregistered Toyota Camry without a trade plate affixed to the Car from Koforidua direction towards Suhum in the Eastern Region, however, upon reaching Addo -Nkwanta a community near Nankese along the road, the driver alleged that he was blinded by the high light from an on -coming vehicle causing him to lose control of the steering wheel hence veered off the road and crashed into a bamboo shed occupied by an indomie seller and other inhabitants.

The Prosecutor explained that,the car crushed Kwame Asare, a 9-year-old class one pupil of Herman Preparatory School to death on the Spot while Emmanuel Manteaw Kankam, a 28-year-old level 200 student of the University of Education Winneba and a 26-year-old Electrical Engineer, Kwasi Awuah sustained serious injuries and were rushed to Suhum government hospital where Manteaw Kankam died on arrival while Kwasi Awuah survived.

Meanwhile, the Convict bolted after the incident after sensing danger and went into hiding and on October 5, 2017, the Convict sent one Kwabena Daniel Adekeke to pretend as the driver who was in charge of the car who then presented himself as such to the Regional CID office in Koforidua. However, when dragged to court at Asamankese and charged, he admitted that the convict asked him to present himself as the driver to use his valid driver’s license because he didn’t have a license.

On October 10, 2017 , Solomon Adjolo alias Rasta, escorted by his counsel, turned himself in to the police. In Court, Daniel Kwabena Adekeke pleaded guilty to charges of Conspiracy to commit Crime and Deceiving A Public Officer but Solomon Adjololo pleaded not guilty to a Charge of Conspiracy to commit crime to wit; Deceiving a Public Officer and was convicted on his own plea to a fine of Ghc1,200.00 in default will serve 6 months prison sentence in hard Labour .

Solomon Adjololo alias Rasta later changed his plea of not guilty to guilty in the adjourned case. Hence Convict on his own Plea and has begun his prison sentence in Koforidua Prisons.