By Adama Makasuba
Two people, including a driver, have died in a tragic road accident in Bijilo along Bertil Harding Highway after speeding vehicles collided. The accident happened opposite the Oryx petrol station in Bijilo. The day after, the National Road Authority, at its offices in Bijilo, held a sensitization briefing for drivers on safety, especially along Bertil Harding Highway.
Eyewitnesses said that one of the speeding vehicles, a Golf, was using the wrong lane, resulting in a tragic collision with a Benz. The Benz driver and one other individual in his car died, while the Golf driver suffered severe injuries.
Mbake Jadama, an eyewitness, said: “It is very sad that people are dying from road accidents every day in this country. There is nothing wrong with our roads; the problem is with the drivers, and people need an attitudinal change.” Meanwhile, commuters at this location were left in significant shock as another car (BMW) also somersaulted into an incomplete gutter along the Bertil Harding Highway, less than 200 meters from where the fatal accident occurred.
Bertil Harding Highway has been an accident-prone highway since the start of the rehabilitation of highways in the country ahead of the OIC conference in May 2024. The rise in accidents can be found as accounted for The Gambia Police Mobile Traffic Unit has disclosed in their data that 148 people died in road traffic accidents in The Gambia in 2023.
