Anita Korsliah, 34, had gone alone with Annie Toweh, 15 years old, and her landlord’s daughter, Satta Henry, 8, to protect her three children who were participating in their school’s gala day celebration when a truck ran into them, leaving both kids dead.
According to Anita, her three children were participating in their school’s parade, “so because I could not take care of them alone, I asked my older daughter to help me in the process. I also brought my land lady daughter with me as well.”
Anita, who struggled to explain in a very confused state, said she was holding the hands of both girls when the truck ran into them unknowingly.
She added, “The car throws the both of us aside, killing my elder daughter instantly! My landlord’s daughter went straight under the truck but for me, I dropped to the other side. which is why only my clothes got torn and my arm is hurting me. Later, when we took my land lady daughter to Remedy Clinic, she was pronounced dead.”
“I have not spoken to my landlord up to now because it is not easy for me. As I speak, I am in big trouble. The girl who died is not my daughter but my husband’s sister’s so I claim her to be mine because she was living with me. I have to explain to those two families that this is not an easy challenge,” Anita explained.
The accident occurred in the afternoon of Friday, May 31, 2024, when a truck belonging to Mary’s Meal, a Catholic Church school feeding program, lost control and ran into the Mount Gilead Foundation parade, located in the Peace Community, Lower Careysbrug, leaving at least three dead and four in critical condition.
The gala day celebration turned into a tragic scene when the truck bearing license plate number C5455 with Mary’s Meal sticker marked MM 100 was loaded with fire coal heading towards Monrovia.
“Annie Toweh, age 15, was pronounced dead on arrival (DOA), while Satta Henry, age 8, died at the Remedy Clinic due to internal bleeding. Ezekiel Nuoh and three others were later referred to the John F. Kennedy Medical Center under the supervision of the Liberian National Police to seek advance medical attention,” Younger W. Topoe, Officer in Charge of the Remedy hospital, told our reporter.
When contacted, police spokeswoman Cecelia Clarke confirmed that the LNP had received a report of three deaths from the accident investigation team.
According to eyewitnesses, students from the Mount Gilead Foundation left the campus in the late morning to parade the main Kakata-Monrovia highway to the last turning point in Careysbrug.
“On their way back from the last turning point, the students decided to do their final performances at this intersection that leads to the school, so everyone stood and looked at them.” While the process was ongoing, this truck began to arrive. The police and one AFL personnel told him to stop, but he said his car never had a good brake, which is how he collided with the people,” Mark Bobby, a petty trader, told our reporter.
Bobby stated, “The driver was going fast, so when they tried to stop him, you could see him waving his hands and saying no brake, but he was still going fast.” The students were beating drums and no one was paying attention, so when he arrived, the person in charge of the road left a small space for the cars to pass. Still, it was insufficient for his car and he was at excessive speed, so he collided with the crowd, leaving one person under the car.
Abraham Galamue, Deputy Manager of the Mount Gilead Foundation, told our reporter that none of the institution’s students were involved in the accident and that the victims were all bystanders who had come to observe the celebration.
According to him, the institution is collaborating with the LNP to ensure a prompt investigation of the accident.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) recent Global Status Report on Road Safety indicated that Liberia placed fourth globally in terms of road accident fatalities, with roughly 35 deaths per 100,000 people.
