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It was the school holidays ! For many youngsters it was a time for fun and
games. In one particular housing estate, the children enjoyed riding their
bicycles around the area. The housing estate in which they lived in was
relatively quiet and it was quite safe to ride their bicycles on the road, but
as young boys go, they can tend to get a bit reckless sometimes, too reckless
for their own good.
The residents of the area were usually careful when they drove their cars.
Even so there were several near misses as the drivers had to avoid the reckless
young children on their bicycles. The children had no knowledge of traffic rules
and they did pretty much as they pleased. Their parents never educated them
about road safety. In effect, the young cyclists were just accidents waiting to
happen. It was just a mater of time before something tragic happened.
One evening as a group of five children was tearing down a road on their
bicycles, a van suddenly shot out of a side road right in their path. The driver
was obviously a stranger to the area and did not see the danger until it was too
late. He braked hard and swerved his van in an attempt to avoid hitting the
young cyclists. Tried as he did, he could not avoid hitting the leading cyclist.
The front end of the van collided with the young cyclist with a sickening
crunch. The boy was flung onto the road.
The van stopped and the driver opened the door, but he did not get out.
Instead he closed the door, reversed his van from the fallen boy and the wrecked
bicycle, engaged a forward gear and sped off. He did not want to hang around to
deal with the angry residents knowing full well that he might be
bashed up or perhaps even killed.
It was just as well that he fled for soon the residents ran out of their
houses and onto the scene of the accident. the boy was still alive. One of the
men lifted him up, put him into a neighbor's car and took him to the hospital.
For more than an hour after the accident the angry residents milled around
the area uttering curses. However nobody had noted down the number of the van.
All they knew was that it was driven by a young man, nothing more. To this day
the identity of the hit-and-run van is
unknown. The accident victim is alive but walks with a
limp. Although the incident was not a pleasant one, it at least has a
positive effect. The young cyclists do not ride recklessly around anymore. Their
parents do not want a repeat of the accident. |
