Fear swept through Tafo Zongo in Kumasi on Thursday night after a trotro suffered brake failure and barreled down the steep stretch from the Tafo Methodist Church toward Zamfara, causing residents to flee for safety.

The incident occurred around 8:15 p.m., when the vehicle, registered AS 9990-10, sped uncontrollably before ramming into the 45 Mosque, crashing directly into the ablution area. Part of the mosque’s structure was damaged, but miraculously, no one was injured.

Eyewitnesses recounted a frightening scene. One man who had been lying exactly where the trotro landed narrowly escaped death after frantic shouts from bystanders alerted him to move.

Residents say the community has endured at least five brake-failure accidents on the same slope, with one previous incident claiming the life of a young boy. Many locals describe the recurring situation as both traumatic and exhausting.

The driver, 25-year-old Amampanah Ayimini, revealed that he had ended his day’s work, dropped his conductor near the Methodist Church, and was descending the road to use a washroom when the brakes failed.

“There is nothing wrong with the car. When it happened, even the gear wasn’t working,” he insisted.

The vehicle, already old and worn, was left mangled after the impact.

Residents blame the hazardous nature of the descending road and the heavy evening foot traffic. They are urgently calling for stronger speed bumps to slow vehicles before they reach the populated area.

“We never knew a car could crash into this place. Luckily, the children had not closed from their evening Islamic studies. It would not have been good news,” a resident said.

More than five hours after the crash, crowds remained at the scene, engaged in tense discussions about safety measures and pleading for authorities to intervene before another tragedy occurs.