A 15-year-old boy identified as John Okulang was killed on Sunday when a heavy goods truck lost control and overturned on its side crashing him to death on Sunday in Torit town Eastern Equatoria State.
The deceased, a primary six pupil studying at Himodonge Orphanage Center, is said to have been on his way to the market with two other friends who survived the grisly accident unscathed.
First Lieutenant Adam Satiro, a crime officer at the traffic police department in Torit, told Radio Tamazuj that the accident happened at 12:56 pm on Sunday and that the truck loaded with metal scrap overturned due to bad roads.
“An accident happened yesterday (Sunday) where a big truck loaded with scrap was trying to reverse and its hind tires entered a ditch in the road causing the heavy vehicle to fall on its side,” he explained. “Three boys were moving near the truck, one on the right side and the two on the left side, so when the truck fell, it fell on the left side where the two boys are and one was killed on the spot while the other managed to escape.”
“We tried to take him to the hospital but he was already dead so we arrested the driver and he is currently in jail,” Lt. Satiro said.
Torit Mator Mustafa Albino Zacharia confirmed the incident and said that most roads in the town are too narrow for vehicles to pass but that the municipality cannot do anything about it because most areas in Torit were demarcated in the 1940s.
“The driver reported himself to the police and I am at the police station and he has been locked up. The law will take its course and decide the charges against him because he did not intend to cause an accident,” he said. “He did not knock but the deceased was the one standing by the side when the vehicle was reversing. He was not in supposed to stand in that place but kept standing there until the truck fell on him.”
“We cannot open roads because most of the areas in Torit town were demarcated in the 1940s with shops behind,” the mayor added.
Meanwhile, Jildo Abala, the Eastern Equatoria State minister of roads and bridges, admitted that the state of the roads in the town is poor.
“We lack funds. If there was money, we would be able to expand these roads,” he said. “We need money to expand roads and the national government has to help.”
The principal of Zion Orphanage Center, Sunlight James Sereno, regretted the sudden death of their pupil Okulang who met his death hours after leaving the school premises to visit family members.
“It is very that the deceased, John Okulang Oyu, 15, was with us. We took care of him and he was among the 17 former street boys we are educating,” he said. “Three of them went to visit their family members on Sunday but unfortunately one got into an accident and died.”