Girl, 10, Jumps off moving truck, Dies
Pini Bothoko | Monday March 29, 2021 14:50
The Standard Three student of Dibete Primary School was in the company of 11- and 12-year-old boys she had hitch-hiked with from Mogononyane settlement to Dibete village when the incident occurred. It is alleged that the children tried to alert the truck driver to stop but the driver passed the bus stop, something that prompted the little girl to jump off the moving truck.
Dibete Police Station commander, superintendent Meshack Ranku said the incident occurred on Saturday in Dibete village.
“The deceased and her peers were coming from Mogononyane settlement in the outskirts of Dibete and were offered a lift by a person who was driving along the A1 road heading south.
Whilst on the road the driver said from the mirror, he saw the little girl jumping off the truck and stopped the vehicle,” he said.
Ranku said the 31-year-old driver took the little girl to Dibete clinic. She was referred to Mahalapye Hospital where she later succumbed to serious head injuries. “We do not know what really transpired and investigations are ongoing to establish the cause of the girl’s act,” Ranku said.
Asked if the driver has been charged or the charge he is likely to face, Ranku said investigations into the matter are still at the initial stage and the driver has not been charged. Concerning the two boys who were in the company of the deceased, Ranku said the duo remained calm and did not attempt to disembark when their peer jumped off the moving car.
Ranku said the driver told the police that he intended to drop them off at the next stop opposite the village clinic.