Ti'avea girl hit by a vehicle dies en route to hospital

By Talaia Mika 23 September 2019, 8:35PM

A girl from Ti'avea died after she was hit by a vehicle while she was walking home after church on Sunday.

The family of the girl told the Samoa Observer she was initially taken to the Lalomanu Hospital at Aleipata.

She was transferred to Apia where she died en route to the main hospital at Moto'otua. 

A crack on her head led to heavy bleeding and ultimately her death, her family said.

The deceased has been identified as Maryanna Valiano and she was four-years-old, according to her parents. 

They are now working with the Police and the Ministry of Health to bring the driver responsible to justice. It is believed the suspect is also a resident of the same village.

Mrs. Valiano said her family is hurting from the tragic end to their daughter’s life.

It doesn't help that her death has come so close to White Sunday.

"Every morning before she gets ready for school, my baby is always the one who wakes us up early in the morning to say our prayers, before she gets ready for school," she said.

"It's hard because we now lost our ray of hope and our inspiration as she is always a churchgoer and very passionate about school and she is always a fun companion."

The family attends the Worship Center Church at Tiavea with the deceased enrolled at the kindergarten school at Samusu, next to Tiavea village. 

Maryanna’s death has put the spotlight on road safety and the need for Tiavea residents to be cautious, as there is no pedestrian footpath and the road is considered unsafe for children. 

A Tiavea resident and a mother of three children, who did not want to be identified, appealed to the authorities to make the road safe for children. 

"To me, there should be a footpath in such roads like these, especially because not only our there are a lot of children roaming around,” she said.

“But if you see where the poor little girl passed away at, it's merely a walk-path for people on the road.”

Attempts to get comments from the Police and the Ministry of Health was not possible at the time of going to press time.

By Talaia Mika 23 September 2019, 8:35PM

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