Vehicle owners told to be responsible after accidents

By BUSTIN ANZU

VEHICLES involved in accidents are the owners' responsibility and must be cleared so that roads are free for other road users, Morobe's police chief Supt Peter Guinness says, The National reports.
He said once a vehicle had been involved in an accident, the owner must try to remove the vehicle so that roads were free for other commuters.
"The owners must remove the remains of the accident. They must not leave the remains or debris from accidents lying around. That will help avoid further accidents," he said.
He said this after visiting the scene of a two fatal accidents that claimed the lives of 13 people.
Guinness said if that semi-trailer had been removed after the first accident in which five people died, the second accident would not have occurred.
He said his officers, who attended to the scene, had advised the owner to remove the semi-trailer but it was ignored and which led to the death of eight other people travelling from Madang a day later.
A frustrated Guinness, who visited the scene on Monday with Assistant Commissioner of Police for Momase Giossi Labi, said the second accident could have been avoided if the semi-trailer had been removed.
Guinness said the owner was negligent and was the cause of the fatal accident.
He said he would seek legal opinion if the driver of the semi-trailer could be charged with manslaughter or murder.
"The second accident will be in­vestigated and presented to the coroner for its deliberation," he said.
A full media briefing will be held today by the Land Transport Board and police regarding the fatal accidents last week.
Meanwhile, Guinness said the rescuers in the helicopter crash in the jungles of Wafi revisited the scene and collected more body parts and pieces of the crashed helicopter.
"The plane crash investigators are working on the case while police will present its report to the coroner," he said.