SHILLONG: A woman vendor was killed on the spot and three others, two of them seriously, injured when a speeding Maruti Eeco van hit them on the pavement near the military hospital at Rilbong in the city at around 10:50 A.M. on Tuesday.
The SP (Traffic), Nangkiew Irat Syiem, informed that the van went off road and hit the small shop. Police have arrested the driver of the van, Santosh Biswa.
The deceased, 22-year-old, Pinky Begum used to eke out a living selling Kwai (betel nut) on the roadside. Her two sons and a customer were injured in the incident. She is a resident of Nongsohphoh, Upper Mawprem. She was declared brought dead in the Military Hospital where she was rushed by a traffic police officer.
One of her injured sons, three-year- old, Imtiaz Ali was admitted in the ICU of in North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS). The injured customer was also admitted at NEIGRIHMS. However, her two-year-old son suffered minor injury.
“Immediately after the accident, some people were busy taking photographs in their mobile phones instead of trying to take the seriously injured Pinky to the hospital even though they were pleaded for help,” Neelu Sunar, a sister of the deceased said.
Neelu claimed that her younger sister who was present at the time of accident, pleaded people for help to call an ambulance to take Pinky to hospital but to no avail as people were busy with taking photos of the accident.
“My other sister who was present there urged the people to call for an ambulance but they were busy in taking photos. What is the need of that?” an angry Sunar told reporters as they wait outside the morgue at Civil Hospital. Help came after a police officer who was on traffic duty, took the injured to Military hospital.