Dubai: A schoolbus ran over a five-year-old girl moments after she had got off the vehicle, killing her on the spot.

Yasmin Ramadan from Egypt was returning from her evening classes in Garhoud on Sunday.

Doctors at Rashid Hospital pronounced her dead on arrival at 8:48pm.

Police officers at Airport Police Station, which is handling the case, confirmed the Pakistani bus driver has been arrested and the case referred to Public Prosecution.

Eyewitnesses say Yasmin Ramadan, who went to a charity school, which runs evening classes in the same area, had stopped in front of the school bus to pick up her schoolbag, which she had dropped coming off the bus.

The bus driver started driving and hit her.

The little girl was rushed to Rashid Hospital Trauma Centre, arriving at 8:48 pm. Dr Viktor Mikhaeel Butros, surgical-in-charge at the centre, told Gulf News Yasmin was pronounced dead on arrival.

"There was no pulse and no vital signs. The cause of death was severe injuries to her chest, abdomen and pelvis. She also had internal bleeding," he said.

Safety important

The school's principal told Gulf News the school was saddened by Yasmin's death, adding the bus driver did not see the little girl when he started driving.

"The driver did not notice that Yasmin was standing in front of the bus as her siblings were already on their way to their house," he said.

He also said student safety was very important to the school.

"This is the first incident to happen in our school and we always ensure children's safety. The driver has been dropping these children for almost five years. Besides, we always instruct children to never walk in front of any school bus," he said.

However, he admitted the school did not have a supervisor on board any of their school buses, citing staff shortages.

The Ministry of Education requires school buses to have a bus supervisor on board to ensure there are no students nearby before the vehicle can move.

Despite that, Yasmin's mother, who asked not to be named, is not holding the school responsible.

"It is God's will to take our child at this very young age," she said. Her other children are still in shock.

Yasmin's death is not the first school-related traffic accident reported in the UAE this year.

Last week, two schoolgirls in Ras Al Khaimah died two weeks after they were hit by a car while crossing the road.

Five-year-old Sasinas Jayadas and 14-year-old Joji Mathew Kuruvilla had got off the school bus when a car ran into them.

K.V. Jayadas, Sasinas' father, is holding the school responsible and has started legal proceedings against them.

Dubai Police has conducted several school-safety awareness programmes for school bus drivers, as well as stepping up police patrols around schools in the morning to reduce reckless driving.

Mother balames driver

Dubai: Yasmin's last words to her teacher after finishing class on Sunday was, "Kiss me teacher for this will be the last time you see me," school teacher said.

"Yasmin will always be remembered by her classmates and teachers as a highly active person with a joyful spirit. Her academic performance was not that made her popular, but the amusement she brought into the people around her," the teacher told Gulf News.

It was the last time she would see the precocious little girl alive.

The five-year-old then boarded the school bus with Mohammad, her 10-year-old brother and Farida, her 8-year-old sister. The ride home was uneventful and so was the drop-off.

But as Yasmin passed by the front of the bus, her school bag fell. She bent down to pick it up. At that moment, the bus moved and ran over her.

Her schoolmates tried to help. The police and the paramedics were called. But it was too late. Yasmin Ramadan was pronounced dead on arrival at Rashid Hospital Trauma Centre.

Now, her parents and siblings are in a daze, coming to grips that the little girl is gone forever.

Through her tears, Yasmin's mother told Gulf News she kept reliving her darkest moment again and again.

"Every time I close my eyes I can hear Farida shouting out for me, saying Yasmin has fallen down. I can still see the schoolchildren carrying my daughter's body. I can still see it all," she cried.

Her other three children sat near her, silent and numb. The mother said they wake up at night, screaming Yasmin's name.

Upon hearing the news, her Imam father, who is in Egypt undergoing medical treatment for a serious illness, collapsed and had to be re-admitted to the hospital.

She does not blame the school, saying it was God's will that Yasmin died. But her charity dos not extend to the driver, who has been arrested.

"I don't want to see him near my children again," she said.

- Siham Al Najami, Staff Reporter