Lightning crashes: Speedster takes one life, ruins three

ISLAMABAD:

Thump. Hours later, two children were left without a mother, and a widower was wondering how to feed them.

Kiran and William Chaudhry left Sialkot for Islamabad looking for greener pastures and a chance at a future. On Monday, a speeding car on Islamabad Highway left Willam alone to re-examine the choice.

Kiran and William’s children are still grieving. They have swallowed the bitter pill that their mother has gone forever, but they refuse to accept that the driver of the car that took her away is still at large.

The children have appealed to the authorities and to minority groups’ leaders to take note and help them bring the unidentified killers to justice.

Kiran William was crossing Islamabad Highway near Khanna Pul when a speeding car hit her, causing multiple injuries. As people rushed to the scene, the driver who had hit her quickly helped her into his car and went to Benazir Bhutto Hospital on Murree Road. Once there, pretending to be a good samaritan, he dropped her off at the gate and raced off, according to the victim’s family.

Doctors tried to save her, but the poor woman, suffering from major head, chest, shoulder and leg injuries, lost her battle for life the next day.

Her relatives were adamant that the police was immediately informed of the incident, but they failed to reach the scene or visit the hospital to try to record the wounded woman’s statement.

William Chaudhry told The Express Tribune that he and his wife-as a day labourer and a daily wager-could barely afford to put bread on the table and send their kids to school. After Kiran’s death in such shocking and painful circumstances, William is unsure how he will guarantee his children’s food, let alone education.

“It is treated as a common incident, but it shows our common carelessness. Driving licenses are issued to unskilled people by the relevant authorities,” said Faisal Gorchani, a researcher at Sustainable Development Policy Institute. “The leniency of officials causes losses of precious human lives. Many people with driving licenses are not familiar with the basic rules of driving,” he added.

The Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) spokesperson told The Express Tribune that the ITP was following international standards in the issuance of driving licenses. He said that each candidate had to clear a specific test and that “accidents could occur anywhere”. He also noted that people who do not use overhead pedestrian bridges to cross highways were taking unnecessary risks.

Edited by Vaqas Asghar

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2011.