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Ras Al Khaimah: Two schoolgirls who were critically injured after being run over by a car after getting off a school bus on February 14, have died at Saqr Hospital.
Five-year-old Sasinas Jayadas died on Sunday while the other schoolgirl, Joji Mathew Kuruvilla, aged 14, who was involved in the same accident, died at the hospital earlier on Friday.
Sasinas's father has held the school responsible for her death and said he has already started procedures to sue the school for criminal negligence which he says caused his daughter's death. Both the girls were students of the Indian School in Ras Al Khaimah.
'Jumped out'
The bus stopped on the opposite side of Sasinas's residence and the students on-board were asked whether anyone was willing to help her cross Shamal Al Rams Main Street.
Fourteen-year-old Joji volunteered. Sasinas's mother was waiting on the opposite side of the street, unable to cross as she was carrying her 11-month-old baby girl.
Sasinas went a little bit ahead of Joji to cross the street, in front of the bus. She did not see the car driven by an Emirati identified as A.A., but Joji did and rushed to stop her, according to witnesses. However, the car struck both girls who sustained critical injuries.
K.V. Jayadas, Sasinas's father, told Gulf News that the school should take responsibility for the accident.
"The school currently claims that my little daughter opened the door of the school bus and jumped out onto the street... a version which I completely reject. The management is trying to cover up and protect its employees. It is not the issue of my daughter who is dead. It is the issue of hundreds of other students who face similar risks while going to school and returning home," he said.
"The lock to the school bus door is controlled only by the driver who can open and close it," he added.
"Two weeks before the accident, I informed the school management about my concerns over the dropping of my daughter opposite my house," he said, adding that the next U-turn was less than 300 metres away.
Jayadas, a shop owner, has prepared a complaint which he will submit to the Indian Consulate, with a copy to the Indian Ambassador to the UAE and another copy to the Private Education Department of the Ministry of Education.
Mother stunned
Mini Jayadas, Sasinas's mother, has been inconsolable after witnessing the accident.
"Doctors and nurses advised me to bring my wife to the hospital to have a look at her little girl whose brain was damaged in the accident. She refused, but I coerced her to come with me. She took one look at her daughter and has not spoken a word since," he added.
"Her condition deteriorated and my brother accompanied her and our infant back to India. I could not manage between my dying daughter at the hospital and my wife and the infant at home," he added.
A senior Public Prosecution official said the case will be reviewed on February 26.
Jayadas said if the school is held responsible, he will file a criminal case and a civil case claiming compensation.
C.M. Kuruvilla, Joji's father, said he was not yet fully aware of what exactly had happened and why his daughter was asked to help Sasinas from the school bus.
"Even if my daughter had volunteered, she should not have been allowed to get off the bus to help a little girl cross a main street," he said.
He said he was not in the right frame of mind to take any decisions about his daughter's death but the moment he returns from India, he will take action.
A.M.M. Noorudheen, General Secretary of the RAK Indian Association and the Indian School, said the school bus has been dropping the little girl off in the same place for the past two years.
"The bus driver and caretakers were suspended by the school after the accident. The school management is investigating the accident and will take strict action should the driver and the caretaker be held responsible for the accident," he added.
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