Vital details of the death of a volunteer aid work

Vital details of the death of a volunteer aid worker
who was killed in a bus crash in Ghana, West Africa, remain
shrouded in mystery, an inquest was told today.

Forty-five-year-old Catherine Hawks is said to have died
when the bus she was travelling in as a front seat passenger smashed
head on into a tree in September of last year.

But police said that in seven months they had only received
the flimsiest of information about the accident from the local
police.

The court was told the crash happened as the Catherine was
travelling on the badly maintained Narrongo Road, near Bolgantanga,
on September 4 1992.

According to the Ghana authorities, the bus driver had been
due to appear in court in connection with the accident, but no
further details had been passed on to British police.

Boyfriend George Romary, of Larches Lane, Wolverhampton,
told the inquest that he had visited the country.

‘Having had experience of Ghana, I know something about
the police system.

‘
He said car accidents were frequent because of the bad
state of the road, adding, as a result that they were rarely
investigated.

‘I don’t think any further details will come to light.

‘
The post mortem revealed Catherine, of Priolo Road,
Charlton, died of respiratory failure caused by injuries sustained
in the collision.

Recording an open verdict, Coroner Sir Montague Levine,
said: ‘We do not know the circumstances of the crash, or how fast
the vehicle was going.

‘
‘I am not satisfied about the details.

‘
‘But I do not think anything further will come out.

This
is a very sad case.

‘
ends