The family of ten-year-old Gabriela Rodrigues is calling for justice following her death yesterday after she was struck by a motorcycle allegedly being ridden recklessly by a 14-year-old boy along Independence Boulevard, Albouystown.
Rodrigues, of James Street, Albouystown, was a pupil of Ketley Primary School and was expected to write the National Grade Six Assessment next year.
Her sister, Jennifer Bernard, told Kiskadee Watch that the child was returning home from church and walking on the pedestrian path in the centre of the boulevard when she was struck.
“Based on the information we received, she was walking on the pedestrian walkway in the middle of Independence Boulevard and the boy was riding the motorcycle there. He was popping wheelies and riding zigzag when he lost control of the bike. It slammed into her and she pitched,” Bernard related.
She said the motorcycle did not belong to the rider.
According to Bernard, Rodrigues was picked up and rushed to the hospital but died approximately half an hour later. The family was told that she had suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung and internal bleeding. The left side of her body was also badly bruised.
Bernard said police visited the hospital while relatives were there, and the family later went to the Ruimveldt Police Station to provide information.
The family was subsequently told that the rider had been identified as a 14-year-old student of Richard Ishmael Secondary School and that his relatives had been instructed to take him to the police station by the end of the day.
Bernard alleged that the teenager removed the motorcycle’s key and fled following the collision. Relatives of Rodrigues later visited the address where he was reportedly living, but found the house locked and no one at home.
Bernard said the last time she saw her sister alive was before the child left for church on Saturday. She next saw her lying motionless at the hospital.
Rodrigues was described as a quiet and pleasant child who spent most of her time at home and regularly attended church.
“As a family, we want justice. We can’t accept that an innocent life was lost and nothing is happening,” Bernard said. “It is not as though she was running on the road or did not look where she was going. It was nothing of the sort. She was in the corner.”
The family is pressing for a full investigation, maintaining that Rodrigues was on the pedestrian walkway when she was struck.
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