A Class VII student at The Newtown School, who was riding pillion on her mother’s scooter, died after she fell off the two-wheeler when its handle got snagged in the truck’s rear fender and was crushed under the wheels of the giant vehicle.
Police said the mother, Sharmila Ray Chakraborty, and the child, Hiya, both were flung off the scooter at the Kaikhali intersection on VIP Road on Sunday afternoon.
Ray Chakraborty was taking Hiya home to Nimta, on the northern fringes of the city, when she lost control of the two-wheeler while trying to overtake the dump truck, an officer at the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate said.
An officer in the traffic wing of the commissionerate said the truck and the scooter both were on the airport-bound flank of VIP Road.
“The handle bar of the scooter somehow got snagged in the dump truck’s rear fender. The woman then lost control of the two-wheeler, which fell on its side. Both were flung off the scooter and the rear wheels of the truck crushed the child,” the officer said.
Passers-by and traffic policemen who were posted along the stretch took the girl to a private hospital nearby, where she was declared dead on arrival.
The driver of the truck and his help fled leaving behind the vehicle. Residents and commuters who saw the accident broke the front windshield of the dump truck and also blocked the airport-bound flank of VIP Road near the Kaikhali crossing for around 20 minutes, demanding that the driver be arrested immediately.
The officer in the Bidhannagar commissionerate’s traffic wing said they were checking footage of CCTV cameras installed along the stretch to know the sequence of
events leading to the fatal accident and also to identify the driver.
“We are in the process of obtaining footage from CCTV cameras to find out how exactly the accident happened. We are also looking for the driver and his help. We need to question them,” the officer said.
Ray Chakraborty was taken to a government hospital in Barasat, where she was admitted.
“The woman has suffered cuts and bruises and is in a state of shock. We have kept her under observation,” an official at the hospital said.
A family member said Chakraborty had been passing out since being told that her daughter had passed away.
“She was constantly asking for her and we could not keep lying to her. She is losing consciousness every now and then,” said the family member, who requested anonymity.
Teachers at The Newtown School said Hiya was a “responsible and good student”.
“She was very good in academics and was always ready to answer in class,” said a teacher who taught her.
On Saturday, Hiya had gone to school with her mother for the parent-teacher meeting.
“This was a parent-teacher meeting for the periodical exams, in which she performed well,” a teacher said.
Her other interests were music and art, a teacher said.
Dump trucks and other heavy vehicles laden with goods regularly ply through VIP Road.
Commuters who frequently travel through VIP Road often spot heavy vehicles moving at a high speed and weaving in and out of traffic dangerously.
They are among the notorious violators of traffic norms.
“We prosecute errant drivers regularly and have asked all our traffic guards to be alert and to ensure road safety,” said an officer.
