The scene of the accident, that saw St Augustine’s Preparatory School, pupil crushed by his school bus in Majengo, Mombasa, July 21, 2017. [Photo: Daily Nation]
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) has immediately ordered for an investigation into an incident where a kindergarten pupil was crushed to death by a school bus.
The incident which happened in Majengo, Friday morning, saw the pupil drop from an opening of the school bus he had boarded, to school.
The 6-year-old boy was in company of other pupils, including his elder sister of Standard Two, when he dropped, without the driver's knowledge, with the bus' back wheels running over him.
The driver of St Augustine’s Preparatory School, bus, fled after the 6 am incident, leaving fellow pupils in shock.
Alexander Muteti, a Senior Assistant to the DPP has directed the Mombasa County Criminal Investigations Officer to appoint a senior officer to head investigations into the incident.
In a letter, hours after the accident, Muteti said this was not a matter that should be approached purely from a traffic accident angle and therefore the need to have a seasoned detective to deal with the same.
It also directed that the school bus should be impounded, inspected and photographed including the inner part where the opening on the floor, that saw the pupil drop, and crashed by the back wheels.
“The safety of school going children is a matter of great public interest and calls for immediate and thorough investigations into the matter to unearth the circumstances leading to the unfortunate incident,” the letter read in part.This even as the National Transport Authority (NTSA) said the administrators of the school would be charged.
This is after preliminary investigations revealed the school bus had a corroded floor plate, covered with a carpet.