A driver identified in the person of Abel Dzidotor, a 41-year-old truck driver who neglected his faulty Truck on the Tema-Mpakadan rail lines, has been sentenced to six months in jail by the Juapong Circuit Court on Friday 19th May 2024.
This came after he pleaded guilty to three out of four charges namely – careless and inconsiderate driving, unauthorized stopping, and causing harm to the state.
He got convicted on his plea.
TheJuapong Circuit Court presided over by His Honour Prosper Deu-Love Gormashie in sentencing, said, the court considered the fact that the convict was a family man with three children.
The court further stated that his guilty plea at the foremost instance did not also waste the court’s time.
For his first count of – careless and inconsiderate driving, he received a sentence of 100 penalty units equivalent to GHc1,200.
The Court ordered he should serve 20 months, in default.
For his second count – unauthorized stopping, he got a sentence of a fine of 20 penalty units equivalent to GHc240.
Which is in default five months imprisonment.
For his causing unlawful damage, which happens to be his third Count mentioned on the day, the Court sentenced him to six months imprisonment in hard labor.
The Court Ordered that his are to run concurrently, which means that, the convict will serve the highest custodial sentence of six months.
He was also charged to pay a fine of GHc1,200 in addition to the custodial sentence received.
The convict Abel Dzidotor, who was not represented by any counsel, pleaded not guilty to the fourth count of failing to produce a driver’s license.
The case has been adjourned to May 9, 2024, by the Court.
Brief facts
Per the report of Detective Chief Inspector Abel Anane, the prosecutor in the case, the complainants, Engineer Dr. Divine Olitey and Kwabena Bonsu, who are both consultants of Ghana Railways Authority residing in Tema all reported that the accused person, 41-year-old Dzidotor Abel, was the driver in charge of a Hyundai truck with registration number GS 9018-20 parkedon the Railway.
The Prosecutor reported that, that on Thursday, April 18, 2024, between 0900 and 1300 hours, the complainants, together with their Polish counterparts, embarked on a site acceptance test of the new Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) 001 from Tema to Mpakadan which hppened to be involved in the Crash.
He futher told the Court that, during the hours of the try of the try test, upon reaching Abortia, a suburb of Juapong, the new train collided with the aforementioned unmanned truck, which had been abandoned stuck across the railway line at an unapproved area.
He said that man who stand accused abandoned the truck without due care to other road users.
Detective Abel also said the truck sustained irreparable damage, while the train suffered some degree of damage.
The prosecutor stated that the accused driver went into hiding at Tagadzi, where he was arrested and arraigned before the court before his trail.
