Eid day road crash slays 4 kids, father
A man and his four children going to visit relatives on the Eid day on a motorcycle were crushed to death by a sports utility vehicle.
On the day of Eid, Shahzad Ahmed, a resident of the Chungi Amar Sindhu area, was very happy.
According to family members, his children had reminded him of his promise to take them to their grandparents’ home and he couldn’t resist. He started his journey from Lahore to Safdarabad on a motorcycle with his four children and a niece. On the way, he stopped in Sheikhupura and bought sweets for his sister and her children.
However, a few kilometres before reaching their destination, a speeding vehicle hit their motorcycle in Farooqabad, killing Shahzad, his sons Faizan and Sufiyan, and daughters Fiza and Mehek.on the spot due to severe head injuries. His 11-year-old niece was severely injured.
The driver of the vehicle fled, leaving the victims in a pool of blood.
Local residents informed Rescue 1122, whose workers shifted the injured girl to a hospital and handed over the bodies to the police.
According to local officials, the sister of the deceased was informed of the incident and she reached the police station.
The police have registered a case against the unknown driver and arrested the accused, Waqas Istehar, a resident of Farooqabad, within 12 hours.
The driver was found to be driving without a license and was allegedly under the influence of alcohol. The police have vowed to take strict action against the accused. The funeral of the victims was attended by mourners from the family and locals.
Sheikhupura police arrested the driver of the vehicle, Waqas, a resident of Farooqabad, about 12 hours after the accident.
According to the complaint registered by the police, the suspect was driving recklessly and his vehicle hit the motorcycle, killing five people and injuring another.
The SHO of Farooqabad Police Station, Zafar Iqbal, said the suspect had failed to show the police his driving licence.
Some reports indicated that he had acquired the vehicle on rent.
The bodies were brought home, overwhelming the mother of the deceased children with grief.
The Punjab chief minister sought a report about the incident, but members of the bereaved family said they had not been contacted by any senior officer.
Meanwhile, at least 21 people died, whereas 2,137 were injured in 1,861 Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs) across Punjab during the last 24 hours. Out of these, 1309 people with serious injuries were shifted to different hospitals, while 1,906 victims with minor injuries were treated at the incident site by Rescue Medical Teams.
The majority (77%) involved motorbikes. Furthermore, the analysis showed that 1075 drivers, 119 underage drivers, 167 pedestrians, and 895 passengers were among the victims of road traffic crashes.
The statistics show that 311 RTCs were reported in Lahore which affected 366 persons placing the Provincial Capital at top of the list followed by 144 in Faisalabad with 161 victims and at third Gujranwala with 103 RTCs and 99 victims.
The details further reveal that 2137 victims were affected by road traffic crashes including 1,668 males & 469 females, while the age group of the victims shows that 578 were under 18 years of age, 948 were between 18 and 40 years and rest of the 433 victims were reported above 40 years of age.