By: Aja Musu Bah-Daffeh
Four men including an ambulance driver were injured in a serious accident on Thursday May 26th, 2022. The accident occurred along the busy Brikama highway, opposite the Amadiya Muslim Hospital.
Five vehicles including a community ambulance and a motorcycle, were involved in the accident that caused heavy traffic jam on the highway.
The injured victims were Saja Colley, the ambulance driver who hail from Tallinding; Lamin Malack, a painter from Manjai kunda; and two men who this reporter cannot verify because they were immediately rushed to Ndemban Clinic by the Amadiya Muslism Hospital’s ambulance in critical condition.
According to Fabakary Bajo, an eyewitness who was involved in the accident and owner of one of the vehicles, the man riding the motorcycle crossed in front of the ambulance when the driver lost control and knocked his bike.
“When the ambulance knocked my car, it could not halt because it was driving at high speed. The ambulance then somersaulted on the black Opel KM 9452 D and destroyed the entire vehicle, seriously injuring the driver and the man sitting beside him,” Bajo explained.
Mr. Bajo said the doors of his vehicle were damaged from the accident, but thanked God for saving his life, that of the driver and two other men who were in his car.
Ansu Sanneh, a resident of Fajikunda and an eyewitness who was also driving during the time of the incident, asserted that when the ambulance somersaulted on the black Opel, he helped the victims out of the car and quickly rushed them to the Amadiya Muslim Hospital with the help of other men. Mr. Sanneh advised drivers to exercise more patience when driving, by giving way to ambulances and follow traffic rules to avoid accidents.
Another eye witness Bubacarr Sarr, said: “Gambia does not have wider roads.Thus, Government and the police should not stop the functioning of double lanes earlier when the President or other high dignitaries are to depart on time for the airport. At least the road should be controlled when it is thirty minutes before the coming of the President and not hours.”
Sarr said the early control of traffic by the police is equally a contributing factor to accidents in the country as roads are small and the traffic becomes very congested during this period.
The driver of the ambulance Saja Colley who was admitted at the Amadiya Muslim Hospital and in critical condition, managed to talk to this reporter.
According to Colley, he was returning to base after taking a referral at Ndemban Clinic, when the accident happened. Colley explained that he has back pain, wounded hands, fractured finger, waist pain, shoulder disorder and severe pain on his left ribs.
Whilst at the Ahmadiya Muslim Hospital, this reporter saw doctors and nurses preparing ambulance driver Saja Colley for evacuation to Kanifing General Hospital for further treatment.
