The Service is distraught about the challenges the siren misuse is posing in the discharge of their duties as some motorists tend to refuse them road access during emergency situations.

Speaking on Luv FM, Ashanti Regional Manager of the Ambulance Service, Paemt Sommik Duut Miilon raised concerns about the growing challenge EMS teams face in navigating traffic.

He cited the common practice of hearse operators abusing sirens, which contribute to delays in response time, despite not being medical emergencies.

“On Fridays and Saturdays, you see the hearse operators on the roads. There’s no emergency for dead bodies, so those people need to be arrested by police and prosecuted,” he said.

Mr. Duut Miilon urged road users to give way swiftly, stressing that delays often occur due to the traffic congestion caused by unauthorized use of the sirens.

He called for enforcement, urging authorities to militate against the misuse of sirens and prioritize the free passage of legitimate emergency vehicles.

While the standard international response time for medical emergencies is approximately 8 minutes with some places achieving as low as 5 minutes, the Ashanti Region’s average currently stands at 17 minutes.

This, Mr. Duut clarified, is not due to a lack of ambulances or their non-readiness, but largely because some patients’ request transfers between hospitals and prank calls.

“Ghana’s EMS professionals are equipped and ready, but they can only save lives if the public stops misusing emergency lines and starts responding responsibly. Prank calls aren’t just annoying they’re deadly distractions,” he noted.

Mr. Duut highlighted the sheer number of prank calls flooding their dispatch center daily with at least 200 calls from individuals who phone in to make unnecessary demands.

The worrying situation often thwarts the service from offering the needed help to genuine calls.

“We have the 112 which is the emergency line for Ghana, but we can get over 200 to 300 pranked calls, the line doesn’t rest. These aren’t harmless jokes. They range from insults to nonsensical requests like airtime, all of which choke the lifeline meant for real emergencies,” he said.

According to police spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo, the driver was dropped off mid way as the car snatchers drove off.

The complainant alleged that he was driving along a highway when he was kidnapped.

The police explained that the driver was driving a company vehicle of Icebolethu Funerals, transporting four bodies to Durban.

The driver was then allegedly forced out of the vehicle by two occupants of a blue Renault Triber, who pointed firearms at him. He was then placed in the back seat of the Triber, and his head was covered.

The suspects took the complainant’s wallet, containing cash and a cellphone.

The stolen hearse was later found abandoned with the four bodies inside.

The police opened a case of kidnapping and are currently searching for the suspects.

The hearse with registration number GR 9867-16 reportedly hit into a pothole at a sharp curve, which caused the car to veer off the road.

The hearse managed to run into a bush and rammed into the sideways.

A mourner sitting in the passenger side of the car sustained critical injuries and has been transported to the St Francis Xavier Hospital.

Assin Fosu Police command who were called to the scene towed the hearse containing the body to the funeral grounds for the procession to continue.

The police commander, who spoke to Adom News, said though the front right side of the hearse is completely mangled, the driver escaped unscathed.

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The man, who reportedly died two days ago, was being transported to a village in the Eastern part of Nigerian for burial when a bus rammed into the hearse.

The impact left the hearse mangled while the wife and children of the deceased suffered various degrees of injuries.

The survivors were rushed to a medical centre for treatment as the corpse was returned to the mortuary pending the recovery of the injured victims.

The deceased’s wife sadly died during the horrific accident while her late husband’s body was defaced after it was thrown out of the coffin.

The hearse was accompanying the body of Mr Caleb Mapaya. His widow, Mrs Cecilia Chingaya-Mapaya, was seated next to the hearse driver when the accident occurred.

During the freak accident, the widow was thrown out of the vehicle and trapped underneath. She was later rescued and transported to Hauna District Hospital. Unfortunately, she later succumbed to the injuries sustained during the accident.

The police blamed the driver of the hearse for the accident. Acting Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka told the Manica Post.

“The corpse was thrown out of the coffin, and it landed on the ground. The driver was speeding when he lost control of the vehicle. We urge motorists to desist from speeding and always adhere to road traffic rules.”

Chatadza has since been arrested and is assisting the police with investigations.

A neice of the deceased couple who was also driving behind the hearse told media men that they are yet to understand how the widow and coffin flew out of the car even when all doors were locked.

“My aunt and her husband’s corpse were the only ones that were thrown out of the vehicle. All the doors were locked and they were still locked when we were rescued by passers-by. People say she was thrown out through the window, but it is unbelievable as all the windows were closed before the accident.

“After I was rescued, I noticed that my aunt was missing and we all rushed to look for her. We realised that she was trapped under the vehicle and we managed to rescue her.

“It is taboo for someone to die while on her way to bury her husband. The fact that the corpse sustained some injuries is scary. How can a corpse be thrown out of an intact and secured coffin? The funeral service provider should tell us what really happened,” said Mrs Gandiwa.

Public Relations Officer of the ambulance service, Simmons Yussif Kewura who made the appeal said the jobs of the hearse drivers weren’t emergency services and didn’t require the use of the sirens.

“We always come across these vehicles with an ambulance inscription on them on our roads, blowing sirens but they are hearses for corpses and not ambulances so they must stop,” he said.

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Mr Kewura who was speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Monday, reminded such drivers that the wrongful use of sirens was against the traffic laws of Ghana and is punishable by law.

“Hearses do not run emergency services in Ghana but carry corpses to the hospital or to the burial ground so what is the emergency about a dead body,” he quizzed.