The Family and Juvenile Court in Accra has sentenced a 16-year-old boy to six months at the Senior Correctional Centre following a tragic accident in East Legon that claimed the lives of two individuals.
The young offender, initially pleading not guilty to eight charges, including manslaughter, negligently causing harm, dangerous driving, and driving without a licence, later changed his plea to guilty. Judge Bernice Mensimah Ackon convicted him based on his plea and handed down the maximum sentence permitted under the Juvenile Justice Act 2003 (Act 653) for a juvenile offender charged with manslaughter.
As part of the court’s ruling, the juvenile is prohibited from driving until he reaches the legal driving age of 18. He is also required to report to probation officers every Friday and sign an undertaking pledging to abstain from driving during this period.
The boy’s parents, Bishop Salifu Amoako and his wife, were also penalized for failing to supervise their son. The court fined them GHC12,000 and required them to sign an undertaking to ensure his proper upbringing. Additionally, Bishop Amoako was ordered to pay over GHC8,000 for damages caused to an Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) pole destroyed in the crash.
The incident occurred on October 12, 2024, after the boy attended his birthday party organized by his family at an event centre in East Legon. During the party, the boy requested the keys to his mother’s Jaguar F-Pace Sport from Linda Bonsu Bempah, a personal assistant assigned to supervise the event. Despite his lack of a driver’s licence, Linda handed him the keys, and he left the venue with a friend.
The teenager joined a convoy of three SUVs, speeding recklessly through the streets of East Legon. At Dzane-Ashie Road, he led the convoy, accelerating dangerously. As he approached a T-junction on Mensah Wood Avenue, the boy collided with an Acura vehicle driven by Joseph Ackah, who had slowed down to make a turn.
The collision was catastrophic. Both vehicles were propelled across the road and into a wall, destroying an ECG pole. The impact caused both cars to catch fire almost instantly. While the juvenile and his passenger managed to escape the flames, Ackah and the occupants of his vehicle, including two 12-year-old girls, were trapped.
Bystanders managed to rescue Ackah and a toddler from the burning vehicle, but the two young girls could not be saved and tragically perished in the inferno.Investigations revealed that the boy’s driving fell far below the standard expected of a competent driver and posed significant danger to other road users. Despite being underage and unlicensed, the family had reportedly allowed him to drive their vehicles on multiple occasions.
Assistant State Attorney Ebenezer Yaw Acquah detailed the series of reckless decisions that culminated in the tragic crash. The court emphasized the family’s negligence in supervising the boy, highlighting the failure to instill a sense of responsibility and respect for the law.
The incident has sparked discussions about parental accountability, juvenile delinquency, and road safety in Ghana. While the juvenile serves his sentence, the grieving families of the victims are left to grapple with the devastating loss caused by his reckless actions.
This tragic event serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of negligence and the importance of enforcing road safety laws, particularly among young and inexperienced drivers.
