By Adia Jildo
A 2-year-old child suffocated and found dead in a wrecked car at a neighborhood in Shar-batry a suburb of Gudele West yesterday.
John Charles the father of the deceased said he had gone to work when he left his child with the mother at home. On returning, he got the child had gone to play where he had taken longer than expected.
“I came asking for this child in the morning and the mother said he had gone to play. I left to watch football and returned at 1 PM to eat and the child had not yet returned home. We all started looking for him up to evening,” he explained.
John said he later took the case to the police at Luri police station thinking his child might have been kidnapped, killed or got lost.
He said on return, “I saw very many people at my compound crying just for my wife to tell me that the child was got in the car dead, I don’t know the person who placed this child there or maybe he got there by himself but he is two years old, how did he manage to open the door of the car to get in there”.
Samuel Okello a neighbor and police personnel said the failure of the car owner to lock the doors of the car will continue putting risk on the life of the children.
“He was supposed to lock this car. We are not happy at all about this. It is his problem because these children do not know what is good or bad. He has an elderly person should have taken responsibility,” he said.
Anthony Felix a neighbor whose children had gotten locked a year before in the car said presence of the car has been a threat to the neighbors as most children play where he has parked his car.
“There was a time my own children entered this car and almost got suffocated. The heat in there was too much that these children almost got suffocated in there but were rescued,” Anthony Felix said.
Anthony said four children had been found before who almost suffocated to death due to the presence of the car.
“If he was able to understand the first incidence then he should have taken a step but he has not paid any attention to this till now. That’s why it has reached to this extend leaving an innocent dead,” he said.
Anthony called on those having cars to take precaution of either taking it to the garage or using safety precautions to keep the vehicles from children.
“Now you leave a car like these in your compound with its doors open, how safe do you think these neighboring children are? Maybe a thief will hide here or even a snake,” he enlightened.
The corpse of Santos John has been taken to Giada military hospital for a forensic check.
The owner of the car (Okwera) identified by one name handed himself to the police yesterday after finding pout the incident.
According the deputy police spokesperson James Dak Karlo, investigation by the police is still ongoing to find out the real cause of the death.