The nation mourns again. This time it is for a child who was killed in an accident a week ago. Questions linger. What if she had stayed at home? What if she and her aunt had not been standing where they were? What if the truck driver had somehow been delayed?
A sunny afternoon on the East Bank highway suddenly turned cloudy and wet with the tears and screams of onlookers when the truck slammed into the median, instantly killing seven-year-old Ciarra Benjamin. Her aunt said that she suffered a blackout. There are conflicting reports about what occurred. Some claimed the truck was speeding. Others claimed the truck swerved into the direction of the median to avoid hitting another vehicle. It was even said that the child attempted to cross the road, but then saw the truck and panicked.
Shock quickly turned to rage and resulted in the bloodied face and body of driver and the torching of the truck. I am sure when the driver left his home that day, he never imagined such a tragedy. He, too, could have died had he not been rescued by the police from the enraged citizens who beat him. I understand that the people were angry but should the driver have been beaten? No. If he had been murdered, would that have eased the pain of the child’s relatives and those who witnessed the accident? No. Would it have breathed life back into the child? No.