Yamunanagar, November 3
To save 12 schoolchildren going on a rickshaw from being run over, the driver of a truck ended up killing three children on foot and injuring another on the Ambala Ponta Sahib national highway here today. The children were about to cross the road to go to their schools, when the accident took place.

Chirag (7) and Tanya (12), son and daughter of Mr Balbir and Ms Suman, and Preeti (18), daughter of Mr Darshan Lal and Ms Shreshtha, were killed after being run over by the truck (HR-38-3225) near Matka Chowk at around 8.15 am. Shivani, a sister of Preeti, who too was hit by the truck, however, survived with minor injuries. Chirag died on the spot, while his sister, Tanya died on way to the PGI, Chandigarh. Preeti was declared brought dead at the PGI. The driver of the truck has been arrested.

Eyewitnesses said when the truck, driven by Nathu Deewan, reached Matka Chowk, a rickshawpuller (with 12 students of S.D. Public School, Yamunanagar on his rickshaw) took a wrong turn to avoid the rickshaw, the driver of the truck took a sharp left turn and mowed down three children.

Chirag was a student of Class III and Tanya of Class VII at Hindu Public School, Jagadhri, while Preeti was a Class XII student of Hindu Senior Secondary School.

As the news of the accident spread, worried parents rushed to the site of the accident.

A large crowd gathered at the spot and tried to block the highway but a heavy police bandobast thwarted the attempt. As per reports, some anti-social elements tried to close down the educational institutions situated in the area but their attempts too were foiled by the police. The crowd was agitated and angered as only yesterday a schoolgirl was run over by a Haryana Roadways bus on the highway.

The deaths could have been prevented had the district administration enforced the traffic laws and the Supreme Court’s guidelines regarding ferrying of the schoolchildren in rickshaws. The stretch of the road on which the accident took place has been declared a no parking zone and speed limits for different types of vehicles have been specified but the rules are flouted with impunity.