A ZIL-130 truck struck a nine-year-old boy in Balykchi district of Andijan province. The boy died in the hospital, according to the provincial traffic police press service.
The accident occurred around 4:00 PM on February 24 on the Fergana Ring Road (km 103 of the D-105 road). The truck was driven by a 24-year-old driver.
Reportedly the boy "suddenly ran out onto the crosswalk," and the driver, after hitting him, "lost control" (a standard phrase for such reports from traffic police units).
A video footage posted on social media shows the boy running across the road just as the traffic light for vehicles traveling in the opposite direction of the truck flashes green and turns yellow (prohibitory). The Cobalt driver stops before the yellow light turns, but the truck continues on. It is unknown what traffic light signal was indicating the other direction.
A criminal case has been opened under the Violation of traffic safety rules or vehicle operation resulting in death charge of the Criminal Code.
Last summer, the chief of the Traffic Department of the Interior Ministry Sherzod Ibragimov acknowledged that road accidents involving child fatalities were the most pressing issue. "When we hear about each such accident, we get heartbroken," he told reporters.
