“The car was shattered from the front of the bonnet, all the way to the windscreen; actually, to the steering wheel. The interior of the car, the way it looked shattered, everything was broken I wonder how I survived.”
These were the words of veteran broadcaster and fashion designer, Kofi Okyere Darko, popularly known as KOD while he recounted events that almost led to his death in an accident in 2015.
KOD narrated to Laud Adu-Asare on the GhanaWeb Road Safety Campaign series that although he was not much of an alcohol drinker, on the eve of April Fool’s Day, he gulped down a little during a friend’s party drink-up.
He indicated that but for the fact that he was wearing a seatbelt, the story would have been entirely different.
“I had my seatbelt on, thank God. I think it’s one of the things that really saved me…”
He confessed on the programme that he was usually fond of not strapping in since he was one who was not in the habit of driving at top speed.
Mr Okyere Darko rammed into a parked garbage truck on the N1 Highway in Accra, close to Nestle Ghana Limited late into the night.
“…I was from a friend’s drink up… I don’t drink a lot but I had a little to drink…that’s probably why I could not tell the car(garbage truck) was stationary..
“Maybe if I had not taken in some alcohol I would have known that the car was… because I thought that it was in motion. You know most of them drive around, even at night with no lights on. But I thought it was in motion…” KOD added.
He noted that eyewitnesses came to his aid and helped him make some calls to get him to the hospital.
The media expert said his first choice for the SOS call to fellow media mogul and bosom friend, host of Peace FM’s Morning show, Kokrokoo, Kwame Sefa Kayi didn’t go as expected as the latter thought the call was a prank bearing the date of the accident in mind.
“Magical, that’s how we call each other… I just had an accident on the N1 and it’s quite worrying. I don’t know how I’ve been able to pick up... I don’t know why I thought of you but please I need you to take me to the hospital.
“And because it was on April Fool’s day, the first thing he said was “Kofi gyai nkwasiasem, wonnim s3 m3 s)re ako adwuma…” KOD shared.
He was put in a neck cast for about 2 weeks while on admission at the hospital.
Watch the full narration of KOD’s near-death experience on the N1 on GhanaWeb Road Safety Campaign here:
