Boy crushed to death as dad runs over him in Fujairah

Dubai: A five-year-old Emirati boy was crushed to death when his father accidently ran over him while reversing his car, Fujairah Police have revealed.

The accident happened on Wednesday at the family’s farm in Badiya when the father, along with four of his children, were about to go home for iftar.

As the father was preparing to move the car, the boy identified as Rashid Abdullah Al Hamoudi, got out of the car to get his shoes which he had dropped, while the car was still in the farm’s driveway.

Unaware of the fact that his son was behind the car, the father reversed the vehicle, seriously injuring the child. When the father realised that he had hit something he got of the vehicle only to see his son seriously hurt.

Major Saif Al Zahmi, Chief of Dibba Police, said that the father tried to save his child by rushing him to hospital but the boy died just before they got there.

The Public Prosecution ordered that the child’s body be handed over to his family for burial, even as further investigations into the case are under way.

This is the second such accident to happen in the same area in less than 40 days, which calls for an urgent need to create more awareness about adopting safety measures in driveways and parking areas.

In the earlier accident a two-and-a-half-year-old Emirati boy got under the wheels of his father’s four-wheel drive when his father was negotiating parking at the family’s garage in Al Refaa area of Dibba Fujairah.

According to the father’s statement recorded by police he had not noticed when his son entered the garage and accidently ran him over.

Police officials have urged parents to be more careful while moving vehicles near parking areas and driveways at homes and to make sure children don’t run around near parking areas.

Officials have also advised parents to equip their vehicles with rear-view cameras and parking sensors to make sure they can see what is behind their vehicle.

— Mary AchKhanian is an intern with Gulf News