A 2-year-old boy was killed Wednesday morning after being struck by a four-wheel-drive vehicle on the road connecting Tsaramasay to Village des Jeux. His father filed a complaint against the driver.
The accident occurred around 9:08 a.m. on the narrow road alongside the Andriantany canal in Tsaramasay. The child was walking beside his pregnant mother, who was holding his hand, when a Toyota Land Cruiser hit him and threw him under its right rear wheel.
The boy's father, waiting on the other side of the road, witnessed the tragedy. The child died instantly. His body was transported to the morgue of Joseph-Ravoahangy-Andrianavalona Hospital by municipal hygiene bureau (BMH) agents.
The driver, who was in the vehicle with two passengers, was taken into custody at the Tsaralalàna Accident Brigade office. According to several witnesses, the vehicle was traveling at high speed on this narrow, heavily trafficked road.
The victim's relatives emphasized that the child was not alone at the time of the tragedy. "The little boy was being held by his mother," they stated.
Shocked, the mother was removed from the scene to prevent her from fainting. The vehicle stopped immediately after the accident. The driver got out before several residents gathered around him. Fearing a violent reaction from the crowd, some neighbors advised him to get back in the vehicle and lock the doors.
Police from the Ankorondrano outpost arrived about five minutes after the alert, followed by reinforcements. Despite the tension, no incidents were reported.
Around 11 a.m., BMH agents evacuated the body. The family, living in Ankorondrano-Andrefana, was to join relatives in Ankorondrano-Andranomahery, where the body was to be watched over.
Neighbors have long denounced the danger of this road, considered too narrow to safely accommodate cars, motorcycles, carts, and pedestrians simultaneously. The child was the couple's only son. His mother is pregnant. The father filed a complaint against the driver.