The white Volkswagen beetle moved steadily in front of the Peugeot 504 on the expansive tarred road. A couple sat in the front seats of the Peugeot; the husband behind the wheel while their kids sat behind. It was a bright day and everything seemed to go smoothly until the still morning was shattered by tragedy.
Three little girls stood on the right hand side of the road; the eldest holding the hands of the other two on each side. The Volkswagen beetle swerved of the road and in an instant, the oldest girl was rolling on the bonnet of the car, her head hitting the windscreen. The occupants of the Peugeot 504 watched in horror and wondered if the scene was actually happening. The piercing scream of their mother made them realize this was no dream.
The beetle moved forward a few metres before halting and a man eased out of the driver’s side in confusion. He put his two hands on his head in shock and regret looking at the ground as the girls lay there unmoving. Screams and shouts rent the air breaking the serenity of the once still atmosphere.
Meanwhile, a woman was sleeping in the backseat of the beetle. Maybe it was the screams that rent the air, maybe it was instinct; but she woke up and looked around her. She pushed the passenger seat forward and opened the door. She assessed the situation around her, removed her head scarf and started crying. She looked at the girls and ran helter-skelter. Onlookers realized she was in shock and held her; before she decided to run into oncoming vehicles.
The mother in the Peugeot car was frantically telling her husband to park the car. She ran out of the vehicle immediately it stopped and rushed to the scene. The three girls lay on the ground. Rescuers carried two of the girls while the mother in the Peugeot carried another girl. A hospital was just across the road from the scene of the accident and people flagged down cars so the three girls could be rushed into the hospital.
The children seated in the back seat of the Peugeot were shaken from witnessing the accident first-hand. They waited for their mum who was still in the hospital across the road. She came back some minutes later and told her husband that the victims were twin girls and the eldest girl presumably a maid. The car brushed one of the twin girls to the side, hit the eldest girl making her somersault on the car and rode over the second twin with its tyres twice.
She confirmed from her position as a medical personnel that the eldest girl and one of the twins would survive the accident. Chances of the other twin surviving was very slim. The accident scene and the resulting tragedy will leave an indelible impression on the hearts of not just the unknown parents of the girls but also the kids in the Peugeot car who had witnessed it.
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