Two Dead and Several Injured as Series of Truck Accidents Disrupt Accra-Kumasi Highway and Ashanti Region Roads

A series of severe road accidents on Saturday, July 18, 2026, has left two people dead and several others critically injured across major Ghanaian transport corridors. The most tragic incident occurred on the Accra-Kumasi highway at Asuboi, where a head-on collision between a Hyundai truck and a KIA Rhino resulted in two fatalities. According to the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the crash was triggered by a front tyre burst on the KIA Rhino, causing it to veer into the path of the oncoming Hyundai. Both vehicles suffered catastrophic damage, and emergency teams worked extensively to extricate victims trapped within the mangled wreckage. Two additional passengers sustained injuries in this encounter and were rushed for medical attention.

Simultaneously, the N6 highway experienced massive gridlock following another truck crash at Birimso, which completely blocked the Accra-Kumasi route. Beginning at 10:00 AM, the Ghana Police Service was forced to redirect all Kumasi-bound and Accra-bound traffic through Kyebi to bypass the obstruction. Motorists were advised to exercise extreme patience as recovery teams worked to clear the heavy vehicles. These incidents on the N6 underscore the persistent dangers on one of the country's busiest stretches, where mechanical failures and tyre bursts frequently lead to high-impact collisions.

In the Ashanti Region, two separate heavy-vehicle accidents caused further chaos and injuries. At the Asokwa overpass in Kumasi, a fully loaded trailer suffered a total brake failure while traveling from Anloga Junction toward the Ahodwo Roundabout. The trailer plowed into eight vehicles, including a Toyota Santa Fe, a Honda CR-V, and a Nissan SUV. Kwame Mensah, a driver involved in the pile-up, recounted how the trailer pushed his vehicle into a chain collision that left three people critically injured, including a roadside hawker. In a nearby incident in the Oforikrom Municipality, three people were injured when a timber truck lost control while avoiding a stationary waste tricycle. The truck overturned, spilling massive logs onto two vehicles on New Road, causing heavy congestion near the Asokwa Interchange.

These combined incidents have prompted fresh concerns regarding vehicle maintenance and road safety enforcement for heavy-duty trucks. While emergency personnel have managed to clear most of the obstructions in Oforikrom and Asokwa, the police investigations into the brake failure and tyre burst incidents are ongoing. Authorities are urging drivers, particularly those operating commercial and heavy-goods vehicles, to conduct rigorous pre-trip inspections to prevent such mechanical-related disasters. For now, traffic remains slow in the affected areas as authorities finalize the removal of debris and damaged vehicles from the primary thoroughfares.