Stany Bela
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Mar 28: The CCTV footage of the horrible accident at Derebail on Sunday March 25, in which 16-year-old Nikitha Cutinha was seriously injured, clearly shows that the driver of the car that hit her was at fault. The CCTV footage, exclusively accessed by Daijiworld, shows the car being driven recklessly and at a high speed.
Nikitha Cutinha, a second PU student of St Aloysius PU College, was walking by the side of the road when she was knocked by the car. She sustained major injury to her head that caused haemorrhage and severe bleeding. She has been admitted in AJ hospital and is still under close observation.
The driver of the car has been identified as Sharmila, a resident of Bengaluru who owns an apartment at Bejai Kapikad in the city.
Nikitha
The CCTV footage has once again prompted people to raise concerns about rash and negligent driving that end up in tragedies involving innocent lives. In the present case, the CCTV footage cleary shows Nikitha walking on the extreme left side of the road, on the footpath, and the car that rammed into her gave her no space to escape. Another man who was about to cross the road at the same moment managed to save himself on time, but Nikitha could not see the car as it hit her from behind.
Nikitha is the daughter of Noreen Crasta, a senior staff nurse of AJ Hospital, and Jerome Cutinha who works in Saudi Arabia. Nikitha is said to excel in studies. Her teachers and friends, relatives and neighbours all say that Nikitha is an amiable girl who enjoys great rapport with everyone.
Santhosh Lobo, who was just behind the car that hit Nikitha, and was in fact the one who rushed to her help and shifted her hospital, said that the car was indeed being driver rashly, but immediately on realising her mistake, the driver broke into tears.
Another eyewitness said, "The girl was on the footpath, and the car which was at a high speed was on the extreme side of the road. The driver never tried to apply brakes or blow the horn. It seems the driver was on phone and failed to monitor where her car was heading."
Sharing his views about Indian driving culture, a local told daijiworld, "Compared to other countries, Indian driving culture is below standards and sometimes it is senseless. It is rather dangerous and filled with risks. Majority of people who drive or ride do not know traffic rules and are not bothered about road safety. Breaking the signal, endangering others with their driving skills and stupidity, justifying bad habits and mistakes are common in Indian driving. Repeating the mistakes and zero concern for co-passengers, commuters and pedestrians are major issues facing Indian driving.
"Moreover, there is less provision for strict punishments for driving mistakes in the law, which in turn encourages reckless driving. Low fines and petty cases are another factor that lead to repetition of mistakes. If our law were to penalise guilty drivers with heavy fines and blood money, automatically the accident graph would improve."
Anusha, a friend of Nikitha said, "The system of issuing driving licence needs to change. Licence should not be issued without conducting a complete driving test that guages both practical skills and theoretical knowledge. Gulf countries follow strict measures when it comes to issuing driving licence. In India, anyone with just steering control is issued a licence. This should stop."
Watch CCTV footage