Killed by an airbag

Six-year-old school girl dies in auto crash in Asaba, Delta State

IT was supposed to be a very minor auto crash right in the heart of the Delta State capital of Asaba but the airbag burst and the baby died. The safety airbag, which was designed to save lives, was ironically the cause of her death. At only six, the sun has gone down on little Chizurum Gloria Emmanuel, the flower and glory of the Emmanuel family. All who saw her during her short time on mother Earth are agreed that she was a beauty to behold.

Fighting back a tear-drop, the father Marvellous Emmanuel, 38, explained that the wife had gone to pick the children from school, the Regina Mundi Nursery and Primary School just by the popular Ogbeogonogo Market on the main street of Nnebisi Road at about 2.30 p.m. on March 12 after the close of school and was heading home with the four kids when tragedy struck.

What was supposed to be a happy homeward journey ended in tragedy when an impatient motorist suddenly tried to beat the vehicle in her front, a Toyota Corolla at the U-turn opposite St. Patrick’s College. In an attempt to avoid hitting the car, the driver suddenly stepped on the break pedal. A panicky Mrs. Emmanuel attempted stepping on her break pedal, too, so as not to collide with the car in her front but it was too late.

Tried as she could, she still lightly hit the bumper of the vehicle, and then the airbag burst. She heard a noise and the car, an Audi saloon screeched to a halt. She turned to her right and saw the only daughter in a family of four children who was sitting in the front seat writhing in pains. The Primary Two girl had a cut on her neck and was bleeding profusely from the nose. It was like a scene from a horror movie. It may not after all be hopeless as the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) was just some few metres away, she reasoned.

The distraught trader father at the market town of Onitsha, Anambra on the other side of the River Niger wailed that at FMC, a team of doctors were right on time and battled to save the promising young girl. They tried resuscitating her with oxygen. Few minutes after she was brought in, she gave up.

When Marvellous from Orlu, Imo State set out for work at dawn on that fateful Tuesday he never had any inkling that it was going to be the last time he would see his small angel. There was no premonition of any disaster. Thoughts of any harm to his children never crossed his mind as he bade them goodbye.

He was by the Head Bridge market haggling over some drugs at about 3pm when his mobile phone rang. It was his wife of over nine years on the line. Her voice was trembling. It was quite obvious that all was not well.

“Hello! There is an accident. You have to come straight to FMC, Asaba,” she said switching off the telephone.

“Hello! Hello!” The line was dead.

His heart was shaking. He said hoped he was hallucinating but it was real. In confusion, he called his apprentice to find out if his wife called to give details of the accident. He was confused the more when he nodded his head. Sadness was fast setting into his once happy life. The 15-minute journey to Asaba was like eternity.

At the hospital, he strutted right away to the emergency ward. In a very calm tone, the doctor told him to sit down. He reluctantly did but demanded to know if his wife, a laboratory scientist at the same hospital and a native of Aguata, Anambra State or any of the children were involved in the accident. The doctor said his daughter was the one and that his permission was needed so that she could be transferred to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, about 155 km away for intensive care. It was only then it dawned on her that her baby was forever gone. The man cried.

“My star is gone but there was no sign,” he said trying hard not to betray any emotion.

It was crying time the following day when her teachers and fellow pupils visited the Emmanuels at their home in the Infant Jesus neighbourhood of Asaba. Going by their different testimonies, there is no doubt that the light has gone out of a shinning star.

The father concurred, saying that she was an intelligent and obedient girl who never got in anybody’s way. Always first in her class, he said that there was no contending the fact that she was destined for the stars.

Taking solace in God, Marvellous, an Anglican, said that the pain of losing his only daughter is mind-blowing. . He is at a loss how he would have been able to carry on if not for his strong belief in God, friends and family members who have since turned his house to a Mecca of sort, paying condolence visits.

Waxing philosophical, he said: “The Lord is my refuge and my salvation. God knows best. He giveth and taketh. We cannot question Him. I don’t want to sorrow like them without hope. I know that what laid up for my daughter is a crown of righteousness. God only called her home. She is in the bosom of the Lord.”

A source at the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), however, explained that the airbag must have expired, as the impact of the accident couldn’t have been serious enough to trigger off the airbag. The proper thing is for people to check their car’s airbags 10 years after installation.

Besides, he advised that children below the age of 12 should not be allowed to seat in front of vehicles as they are not matured enough to withstand the impact of burst airbags, should an accident happen. Motorist must always use their seat belts.