Elikem’s Article 2: The Tro Tro Car Crash in Ghana

Article #22 in the YCC Kids Club Ghana Student Life Stories Project
The Deadly Car Accident That I Was Involved In
By Dedi Elikem, Age 13

I was afraid when I saw the car coming towards us at top speed!

I was ten years old on that sunny Monday when I was involved in a car accident. My family and I were on our way home to Sogakope, Ghana from Kumasi in a fifteen-person tro tro. The journey was about two hundred kilometres, the road was full of pot holes, and our vehicle was loaded beyond its capacity.

After covering about forty-eight kilometres, the driver stopped and took leave of us. We watched him as he went out and took two glasses of the locally distilled wine called “akpetetsi.”

When he came back to his vehicle and started driving again, we all sensed danger within the first twenty minutes. The lorry was running at a top speed. We started shouting at the driver, “SLOW DOWN! SLOW DOWN!” in order to save our dear lives. This driver never reacted, but simply kept on speeding up.

And then all we heard was a big: “BOOM!” and felt the vehicle somersault. Many people died, and others were seriously injured. The driver, he died.

I was severely injured in my left foot. I was taken to the hospital by my father, and the doctor said I would need to be admitted for two good weeks. My father lamented, “I cannot afford to pay the hospital fees!” But God was good and once the doctor saw that the injury was a little bit okay, he allowed us to go home. In the time I stayed in the hospital, I missed a lot of friends, but I made new friends in the hospital.

Unfortunately, I still could not walk. “I know someone who can take care of your injury,” said my father the morning we left the hospital, and so we drove to Fieve, near Sogakope. There, we met a man who practiced traditional medicine.

After we explained the problem with my foot, the man went to the bush to fetch some leaves and herbal medicines, and some akpetetsi drinking alcohol. He ground up the leaves and mixed them with the akpetetsi, then he used the mixture to cover the whole of my leg. He then covered my skin with a piece of cloth. The man told my father: “Come two weeks after.”

In two weeks, we returned to Fieve. The man took away the cloth from my leg and used water to wash the medicine off my leg. And guess what? “I can walk now!” I shouted. I was so happy, jumping in the air and screaming!

The very next morning, my friend Caleb came to me and saw that I could walk again. “I am so happy for you!” he cried out, and at last we were all happy that I was alive and would fully heal from that terrible car crash.

Lillie’s Note: As Elikem’s dramatic article shows, Ghana has a serious problem with road and vehicle safety. Governmental campaigns are currently underway to improve this woeful situation which affects so many people here. Please leave a comment for Elikem, stating your geographical location!