Tuesday 23 / April / 2024
Muscat: Grieving father Munawar Hameed, whose 14-year-old son died on Sunday after a collision with a car, has warned parents to monitor their children and drivers to slow down.
Munawar sent his 14-year-old son Zafeer for extra tuition lessons so the football-mad teenager could achieve his dream of becoming a chartered accountant.
Last night, he buried his son in Amerat cemetery in Muscat. Zafeer was knocked over and killed as he crossed a side road in Ruwi, near Hamriya roundabout. He had just returned from tuition lessons and split from his friends so that he could return home faster to his family, at around 6pm on Sunday night.
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Heartbroken father Munawar said: “My son was crossing the service road near Hamriya roundabout when he was hit by a car,” he said, adding that all drivers on Oman’s roads should look out for pedestrians.
“Drivers should not speed in service roads,” Munawar added.
Immediately after the accident, the Royal Oman Police arrived on the scene and found the school identity card of Zafeer in his school uniform. “Then they informed the father and the school authorities as the father’s mobile number was on the school identity card. Then they took him to Khoula Hospital,” Ataullah Niazi, Senior Principal of Pakistan Schools in Oman, said.
Dad Munawar, who works at a college in Barka, added: “Parents should ensure that children are not sent alone anywhere even if they attain the age of 18 and if they are moving, they should always move in groups. My child completed his studies from Ruwi then his friends decided to take some other way to their homes.
“But he wanted to take the shorter route to come home directly when the accident happened,” he said.
A senior official of Royal Oman Police said inquiries into the accident were still on-going.
He added: “To cross the street safely, you must follow four rules. The first being: stand somewhere safe, on a sidewalk for example. Secondly, look both ways; if it is a two way street, look to the left first. Third rule is to listen. Sometimes the street will have a curve and you couldn’t see the car coming so you must listen for it. The fourth rule is to walk in a straight line if the street is deemed safe to cross,” said the ROP official.
Internationally, vehicles must stop at pedestrian crossings to allow people to cross the street but the ROP advises people against crossing using the white lines.
“In a lot of the Western nations, it is mandatory for a car to stop at white lines. However, I advise pedestrians not to cross because the culture here is different when it comes to driving. Drivers will not stop.”
Ataullah Niazi, Senior Principal of Pakistan Schools in Oman, said that Zafeer, the youngest in his class, was interested in playing football, badminton and cooking, apart from his studies.
His family buried the teenager in a ceremony on Monday evening.
