Military dispatch rider dies in ghastly accident
A Navy dispatch rider who was involved in a head-on collision with a colleague rider at Burma Camp in Accra has been confirmed dead.
The rider, identified as Petty Officer Simon Akumpele, was rushed to the 37 Military Hospital in Accra in an unconscious state, together with his colleague, whose identity has been withheld.
The two were involved in a head-on collision while riding their motorbikes during the pulling out ceremony for the former Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Vice-Admiral Matthew Quashie, at the Burma camp in Accra last Friday.
They were part of a number of dispatch riders who were displaying their motor riding skills to the admiration of onlookers at the ceremony.
A female military officer who fainted after witnessing the accident has since been treated and discharged from the 37 Military Hospital.
Shock
Even though the grim accident did not mar the ceremony, it left both military personnel and civilians who had lined up the streets of the barracks to witness the historic occasion in utter shock.
After the collision, while Akumpele was motionless, his colleague who was lying a few metres away was seen moving his limbs.
Some military personnel who rushed to the aid of their injured colleagues asked the media and other witnesses not to capture the scene on their phones and cameras.
The broken pieces of glass and parts of the motorbikes that were left on the street were quickly cleared off for the ceremony to proceed.
Ceremony
The symbolic ceremony marked the retirement of Vice-Admiral Quashie and the handing over to Air Vice-Marshal Samson Oje as the new CDS.
As part of the ceremony, senior military officers gently pulled a long rope attached to an armoured vehicle in which Vice- Admiral Quashie was riding out of the barracks.
Confirmation
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Colonel Aggrey Quarshie, confirmed the death of the dispatch rider, describing it as unfortunate.
He said Akumpele died in the early hours of last Saturday and indicated that the injured colleague of the deceased was, however, responding to treatment.
According to him, the riders had not rehearsed and that “the motor riding display was a spontaneous act which was not part of the parade”.
The GAF, he said, were concerned about the welfare and safety of their personnel and attributed the accident to enthusiasm on the part of the victims.
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