A catastrophic head-on collision near Akrade in the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region has left six individuals, including a toddler, fighting for their lives.

The accident, which occurred on Saturday evening, 14th February 2026, has once again turned the spotlight on the deteriorating state of the Tema–Akosombo highway and the lethal risks posed by unavoidable road defects.

The bloodied scene involved a KIA Rhino truck and a private saloon car, both reduced to mangled heaps of metal following a high-impact crash triggered by a desperate attempt to avoid a pothole.

Initial reports suggest the KIA Rhino was heading toward Accra from Akosombo while the Saloon car was moving in the opposite direction. The collision was sparked when one of the drivers attempted to swerve a large pothole, a move that sent the vehicle directly into the path of the oncoming traffic.

Among the most critically wounded is a young family of three who were travelling in the Saloon car. The victims—a mother, her two-and-a-half-year-old baby, and her husband—sustained life-threatening injuries upon impact.

Eyewitnesses who spoke to JoyNews’ Carlos Calony described a harrowing scene of chaos and desperation as bystanders rushed to the aid of the victims.

The crash occurred at approximately 6:20 pm, just as daylight was fading, making rescue efforts significantly more difficult.

Occupants of the KIA Rhino, the driver and his mate, were also wounded. An unidentified male rescuer also suffered serious injuries while attempting to assist the trapped victims.

The impact was so severe that the driver of the KIA Rhino remained pinned within the crushed cabin of his vehicle for several hours. As local residents and commuters attempted a manual extraction, the main Tema–Akosombo road became completely impassable.

The resulting blockade lasted for hours, with traffic stretching back several kilometres in both directions, hampering the arrival of emergency services. Eventually, an ambulance was called to the scene, transporting the bloodied victims individually to the Volta River Authority (VRA) Hospital in Akosombo.

This incident marks the third major accident in the Asuogyaman District this month, attributed to poor road surface quality. Local assembly members have previously petitioned the Ghana Highway Authority to address the death traps on the Akrade stretch, citing a lack of street lighting and deep craters that become invisible after dusk.