Schoolgirl dies after being hit by car in Al Ain

Al Ain: A teenage girl was killed when a car allegedly jumped a red light and hit her near Al Ain Mall on Sunday evening.

Neethu Chandran, 16, a Grade 11 pupil, was crossing Omar Bin Al Khitab Street along with her six-year-old brother Yedu Chandran. She was on her way home after attending a tuition class. Her brother escaped injury.

Police yesterday confirmed the accident but refused to give any details. The driver was arrested late at night.

K. Bala Chandran, Neethu's father, said it was a hit-and-run case.

"My child's life could have been spared if the driver had stopped."

According to close family friends and relatives, Neethu was crossing the street at around 7.30pm when the green signal for pedestrians was on.

"The car with an Omani registration plate jumped the red light and hit her," said Abu Bakar, a friend of Chandran.

The car hurled Neethu several metres. She suffered serious injuries and died before help could arrive. Chandran, who runs a photo studio in Al Ain, said he used to drop and pick up his children every day for tuition.

"Yesterday [Sunday] I had gone to Al Wagan and the children went on foot," he said. Neethu's body was moved to the morgue at Al Ain Hospital. Her father was yesterday trying to complete formalities to take her body to India.

"We will take her body tomorrow [Tuesday] to Thiruvananthapuram in south India if the paperwork gets done by then," Chandran said.

Chandran has lived in Al Ain for 17 years.

Classmates and teachers in shock

The untimely death of Neethu Chandran has shocked her friends, classmates and teachers at the Indian School in Al Ain.

Neelam Upadhyay, Principal of the school, said everybody at the school was shocked by Neethu's death.

"We are all shocked and grief-stricken over the tragic death of our student," said the principal.

The principal said it was a great loss for her parents and the school had lost a good and well-behaved student.