Xmas tragedy: Truck kills boy, 9, playing at home

- File photo

A HEAVILY LADEN truck parked on an incline broke away, smashing into other parked vehicles and eventually crushing a nine-year-old boy to death while he played within the confines of his family's yard, at Savannah Drive Extension, Five Rivers, on December 29.

The horrifying incident, which happened around 2.25 pm, was seen by the boy's sibling who was playing with him but managed to escape as the truck came careening down the hill into their property.

The boy was playing on an exercise bike when the tragedy happened.

"It eh have no New Year's, it eh have no Old Year's. Everything done there now. The child was a very playful, vibrant little boy," a relative told CNC3.

North Division head Sen Sup Vernly Gift was in a sombre mood as he recounted the tragedy to Newsday.

"There was a three-tonne truck that was transporting a quantity of concrete bricks in the area," he said.

Gift said the truck was carrying around 200 foundation blocks, estimated to weigh 600 pounds, in the back of the truck.

He said the truck had reached its delivery destination and was stationary on an incline, when the driver told the loader to "chuck" the truck's wheels.

"But before the loader could have done that, with the weight in the truck, the truck accelerated down the incline."

He said the truck then hit two vehicles – a derelict maxi taxi and a Nissan van – parked at the side of the road, which did little to slow its progress.

"With that (truck) acceleration and weight, it pushed those two vehicles to a fencing.

"The child was in the yard of his home, playing, and those vehicles that the truck struck slammed into the child, pinning the child onto a steel fence."

Asked if the police had arrested the driver, Gift replied, "The driver certainly will have to assist the police in their investigation., taking into consideration the circumstances under which this unfortunate incident took place. I wouldn't use the words 'taken into custody' but I'd say the driver is assisting the police in their investigations."

Gift said the accident has left him with a heavy heart.

"Let me tell you, as a senior police officer, these things really hurt me.

"The child was not in the roadway. The child was in the comfort of his home in the yard.

"When these things happen, we wonder....For want of a better term, sometimes we wonder if this is the way God really wanted the person to be called home."

Gift later added more details of the tragedy.

"The juvenile was in the front yard when the van, moved by the weight and force of the two larger vehicles, pushed the juvenile from a stationary exercise bike in the front yard against a makeshift steel fence, killing him instantly."

Gift said the police and fire services had responded and on December 30 the police service's victim and witness support unit will visit the family to offer support and assistance.

"I think now is a very, very tragic time for any family which has to experience something like this, at this time of the year. The year is about to close off and these unfortunate incidents happen."

Gift offered some guidance.

"My advice to drivers of vehicles that are carrying loads is to ensure their braking system is checked and is in working order at all times.

"When they are carrying loads of that capacity and are navigating themselves in hilly terrain that they should always exercise extreme caution, based on the fact that they are carrying weight that in some instances is beyond what the vehicle could actually withstand."

Gift said if proper precautions were not in place, especially in areas where there are inclines, the weight alone can propel or push the truck at an extremely dangerous speed.

"I have not received any information whether or not the driver was in the vehicle at the time when it happened, but investigations are continuing and of course the police will try to get to the bottom of what happened."