HORRIFIC ACCIDENT – BOY (AGED 6) UNDER DOUBLE DECKER BUS
Charandhoor’s birthday was coming up and he really didn’t want to go to school, so begged his parents to let him have the day off. His parents explained the importance of education and how much work he would miss if he were to take the day off.
Reluctantly the six year old set out for Linden Primary School with his parents. As he crossed the road to get to the school entrance, Charandhoor was hit by a double decker bus,
dragged several feet along the road and was underneath the bus when it came to a stop. Fortunately for young Charandhoor the bus was travelling slowly and, although he suffered major injuries requiring three hours of surgery and a prolonged stay in hospital, he survived the collision, spending his birthday in a hospital bed.
Police are still investigating the exact cause of this accident, but this was an accident waiting to happen. During school drop-off and pick-up the whole area around the school entrances on Headland Road is a traffic nightmare. As a residential area there are few parking spaces, but at the start and end of the school day, parking, congestion, inconsiderate and dangerous driving manoeuvres and pure carelessness could one day prove to be fatal. It is likely that every school in the country experiences similar issues, but as a close community, we are taking action to try and prevent another occurrence of injury or fatality.
We have raised a petition for speed calming measures, posted speed limit signs, repainted and extended zig-zag markings and double yellow lines directly outside the school. We are also asking all motorists to drive, park, pick up and drop off in a sensible, considerate and legal manner whilst in the vicinity of ANY school to prevent a child being injured or possibly killed in a collision.
We extend our thanks to headteacher Zaheer Mohamed and the staff of Linden Primary School, local Councillors Deepak Bajaj and Baljit Singh, the Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, the Spinney Hill unit of Leicestershire Police, Leicester City Council, local retailers and the community as a whole for signing the petition supporting us in this cause.
Please, Evington, help us to protect our children.
Carrie Adam