Uncle reverses, crushes 14 month-old nephew

Bonte Seepi | Thursday February 16, 2017 16:30

According to Mahalapye police traffic officer, Assistant Superintendent Kgosienalerona Sechoni said reports were that the young boy’s uncle was trying to reverse his Toyota Hilux in the yard unaware that the boy was behind the vehicle. “According to our investigations, the 39-year-old uncle got home and parked his vehicle. After a short period of time, he got into the car and reversed it unaware that the child was behind the vehicle. He then hit the small boy with the car’s left back wheel,” Sechoni said.

The child was then rushed to Shoshong government clinic where he was certified dead. Meanwhile, the traffic officer decried parents’ reluctance to take care of their young ones saying such cases were on the rise in the area. “We are now getting concerned about issues whereby children are hit by vehicles in their homes. It is a sign that even though drivers are also to blame for being reckless, parents are also not monitoring those children’s movements.

“Normally at the age of 14 months, a child would still be crawling and they need supervision at all times,” he said. He said the driver could be charged for reckless driving and causing death but added that the issue was difficult, as police normally would have a mountain to climb to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt in court. This, he said, was because the accidents had taken place at home. “This is not the first such case we have registered. Late last year we had another case in Mahalapye where the same thing happened and a child was hit by his uncle. We also had another one in Shoshong where the same thing still happened,” he said.

In another case, police in the area are investigating a case in which a 39-year-old South African man lost his life after the Toyota Corolla he was in hit cattle along the Martin’s-Drift road last week at night.

According to Sechoni, the driver of the Corolla was driving at a very high speed under pressure to arrive at the border gate before it closes. It is alleged that the car hit three cows in different positions, leaving them and the passenger dead on the spot. “The driver of the motor vehicle survived the accident with minor injuries whilst his passenger unfortunately lost his life. It is quite clear that the driver was speeding even though he was driving at night. “It is normally advisable that drivers use reasonable speed when driving at night especially along Tswapong roads because there is usually a lot of livestock out there as the roads are not fenced,” explained Sechoni.