BOY, 2, KILLED IN
HORRIFIC TAVUA BUS ACCIDENT
Aretired mine worker yesterday recalled the horrifying moment a two-year-old boy died after his head was jammed between a bus he was travelling in and a cement power pole. Wallace Kingdom, of Nasivi, Vatukoula was seated in the second last seat on the left side of the bus, just in front of little Rusiate Delai Junior, his father and mother, Va.
The incident happened at around 12.30pm on Wednesday, when the bus, travelling to Nasivi was leaving its base at the Tavua bus station.
Mr Kingdom said it all happened so quickly as one minute he saw Junior smiling and the next he heard the mother scream and saw the boy’s head jammed between the post and the bus. “You know I have been working all my life underground in the gold mines and have seen a number of men crushed under rocks,” Mr Kingdom said. “This was more painful and horrifying in that it was a little kid,” he said. “The scene keeps coming back and I will not forget this moment for the rest of my life.”
Mr Kingdom said the mother was sitting near the window and was handed the child by her husband. He knew them as they lived not far from each other in Nasivi
“Next thing the bus moved slowly forward and I heard the mother scream and looked back to see the child,” he said.
“The mother was holding onto him but his head was outside the open window and was jammed.” Mr Kingdom beckoned the driver to stop. Two Police officers who were there asked everyone to vacate the bus and the child was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. Bus driver, Mahesh Kumar said, he could not see what was happening and was trying to move the bus out as it was his departure time.
“I heard the yelling then stopped and found out what had happened,” Mr Kumar said.
Mr Kumar was later questioned by Police. When contacted yesterday, Ms Delai said, she was not in a position to speak to the media.
Police spokesperson Ana Naisoro confirmed the incident.
“We will also be interviewing the parents in regards to the supervision of the child,” Ms Naisoro said.
“We will also look at the possibility of laying charges of negligence,” she said.
A post mortem would be conducted as Police investigations continue.