By Adama Makasuba
Police have confirmed that four people have so far died in Saturday’s fatal car accident along the busy Palma Rima highway when a taxi car and a private JETTA collided at the junction.
The accident was widely shared on social media which saw bloodstains on the damaged cars as eye witnesses called for calm driving.
Police spokesman Lamin Njie told The Voice Newspaper Tuesday through a telephone interview saying “we can confirm to you that there was a car accident along Kotu Highway and two people died on the spot and later another died. And also, the fourth person also died.”
Meanwhile, ASP Lamin Njie could not verify social media reports of the involvement of a Sierra Leone lady in the fatal car accident.
He advised drivers against over speeding especially during the festive season and also warned against drunk-and-drive.
However, eyewitnesses said people onboard of the two cars died on the spot as debris of the destroyed cars were packed on the side of the road.
“This is a problem and very sad, I always say this to people to be careful of how they drive along this road. I think this road has devils. My brothers and sister please let us be careful of how we drive,” one of the eyewitnesses told The Voice.
“We are calling on the authorities to help man a checkpoint here. If not, this junction is a very dangerous junction, it causes most of the accidents,” he said while prayed that “May God protect us from a deadly accident, and may their souls rest in peace.”
Deadly road accidents have been on the rise in The Gambia for the past decades which left dozens of people dead and hundreds of others handicapped.