A 6 year old Bulilima boy jumped off a moving pickup truck and died on the spot after the vehicle failed to stop at his dropping off point.
Nkosiyazi Sibanda, a Grade 1 pupil at Khame Primary School, was on his way from school when the incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon. Khame area councillor, Tamilika Ndlovu, said Nkosiyazi, who was in the company of his schoolmates, was offered a lift by a community member.
“The boy was in the company of his peers and they were coming from school around 2PM. They passed through Khame Business Centre where one of the villagers had parked his car.
“They requested for a ride to their respective homes and he agreed. The boy was supposed to be the first to disembark but the driver did not stop. When he realised that he had missed his bus stop he jumped off the vehicle,’’ said Ndlovu.
He said the driver continued on his way and only stopped a few metres away after other children notified him about the incident. Ndlovu said when the driver returned to check on the boy, he was already dead. He said the boy’s head crashed on the road.
Nkosiyazi’s grandmother, Midah Sibanda, said she received news of her grandson’s death while she was waiting for him to return home from school. The boy’s parents work in South Africa, but they have since returned home for his burial.
She said she found Nkosiyazi dead, about 300 metres from their homestead. “My grandson was living under my custody as his parents stay in South Africa where they work. He left in the morning for school and I expected him to return in the afternoon like he always did.
‘’When my neighbours called me to the scene, my grandchild had already died. His head was severely injured and there was a lot of blood on the ground. I assumed that he panicked when he saw the vehicle passing his bus stop which explains why he jumped,’’ said Sibanda.
“As a family we only heard that Nkosiyazi had jumped out of a moving vehicle that was being driven by a local person. In as much as we would have loved things to happen in a different way, we just have to accept that accidents happen.
“It pains us though that we have lost a young life in the family. Children are gullible and adventurous and there is a need for anyone who handles them to be extra careful”.State Media