Fire engine runs over a biker, driver escapes

ISLAMABAD:

A fire engine ran over a young cyclist on a highway in Islamabad on Sunday, killing him on the spot. The driver escaped from the scene after the incident.

On the complaint of the boy’s cousin, the Shehzad Town police registered a case against the driver and were seeking him till this report was filed at about 8pm.

Police said Attaullah Ahmed, a resident of Shakrial Rawalpindi, was hit by Capital Development Authority (CDA) Fire and Rescue department fire engine (IDF 8644) near Sanam Chowk on the Islamabad Expressway.

The boy died on the spot, police said; his body was shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and handed over to family for burial afterwards.

The driver of the fire engine did not stop to see if the boy survived or not, people at the scene told the police. The police said the circumstances under which the fire engine was operating were not clear and investigations are underway.

They could not tell if the engine was on its way to an emergency call location or was just speeding. However, the driver was booked for hit-and-run.

Police said the Fire and Rescue officials denied that the driver returned to the office.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2012.