Coach,
My deepest condolence to the victims of this very tragic and reckless act, especially the children who were simply out to grab a piece of biscuit from the dirt just to munch on like a piece of candy from the grocery outlet!
I pray for Allah to welcome the innocent victims and comforts the families left behind! May just prevail on their behalf...
Am so sorry Gambia!!
Demba
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
-----Original Message-----
From: Pasamba Jow <[log in to unmask]>
Sender: The Gambia and Related Issues Mailing List <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 14:10:31
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: The Gambia and Related Issues Mailing List
<[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [G_L] President’s Convoy vehicle Causes Deaths at Busumbala
President’s Convoy vehicle Causes Deaths at BusumbalaAuthor: Publisher | Date: 09-09-11 | Topic: Art and Music
By Lamin Sanyang
The people of Busumbala village in the Western Region, on Wednesday 7 th September 2011 witnessed the tragic death of many people who were in the street as the convoy of the President was passing. Eye witnesses saw biscuits being thrown from the President’s convoy while people young and old scrambled for them.
According to eye, witnesses the vehicles that formed the convoy were moving at high speed while the President was throwing biscuits. It is reported that all of a sudden a black Land Cruiser with tainted glass dived to avoid children who were scrambling for the biscuits on the road only to lose control. It is reported that the transport ran over two children before crossing the road to hit a taxi van loaded with passengers and a private vehicle parked at a compound gate and then hit a telephone pole.
This reporter located the guardians of the deceased persons some of whom had very sad stories to tell.
The family of Mr. Dawda Jatta lost two children. Another is still at the hospital. A shaken Dawda Jatta said that a child named after him who came on holiday was hit by the vehicle and is currently admitted at the RVTH. He further told this reporter that two of his children, Mustapha Jatta and Sarata Sanyang were killed. He said Mustapha Jatta is his late younger brother’s child who was the former driver of the Director General of GRTS. He said his brother died less than four months back and his widow is still mourning over his death. He said Sarata Sanyang is his sister’s daughter but all the children are living in the same compound at Busumbala.
This reporter spoke to the driver of the van which was hit by the Land Cruiser. According to the van driver three people in his vehicle died as a result of the accident. He said five other people sustained serious injuries and were rushed to the RVT Hospital in Banjul.
Explaining the circumstances the driver said, “I parked the vehicle and went out to join the spectators with my apprentice, to allow the convoy to pass. Five minutes later the convoy arrived with biscuits being thrown. One boy went to pick a packet of biscuits on the road and the convoy could not control the speed and hit him before hitting a 190 Benz and my vehicle along with a telephone pole.”
He said the child died on the spot. He said one of the passengers who died in his vehicle was an old woman from the Casamance region in Senegal and was taken back for burial. He also mentioned that the Nigerian national who was sitting in front of the van suffered from fractures on both of his legs.
The officials at the Mortuary at the R.V.T.H were contacted to establish the total number of people who died but declined to make any comment. Some of the relatives of the deceased who were present at the Mortuary could not tell the total number of people who died from the accident. The Public Relation Officer of R.V.T.H. was said to be on holiday. However, one official at the hospital estimated that at least eight people died in connection with the accident. This reporter takes this figure with a grain of salt until the official figure is divulged by the police.
The Police spokesperson, ASP Mballow, was contacted at the Police Headquarters in Banjul to give a conclusive figure of the death at the accident but said he is yet to have the information.
Meanwhile, all the vehicles involved in the accident were removed by the police and taken to the New Yundum Police Station on the night of the accident.
"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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