ABU DHABI // Three Emirati sisters, aged four, six and seven, died on Monday night when they were struck by a car as they crossed a busy road. They were accompanied by their Indonesian nanny, aged 24, who is now in critical condition in hospital, according to a Ministry of Interior statement yesterday. All four were crossing Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Road (Airport Road) near the Carrefour supermarket, at a spot not designated as a pedestrian crossing. The ministry added that the driver was believed to have been speeding.
The three sisters died at the scene, while the nanny was taken to hospital. Col Hamed al Shamsi, the director of the police traffic and patrols department in the capital, urged parents not to let their children play in or cross streets. He encouraged families to monitor their children, and not leave them solely in the care of housemaids. More than 3,000 children and teenagers were the victims of accidents on Abu Dhabi streets in the past five years, police figures show.
Employees and customers at Carrefour yesterday said they were upset but not surprised to hear about Monday's accident. Lourdes Odi said she was saddened by the news when she arrived at work yesterday morning. "This isn't the first time I heard something like this," she said. "That road is so dangerous. I feel so bad for that family." Maryam Suleiman, a mother of two young boys who shops at the supermarket, said: "I am not surprised this has happened. There is no place to cross out there, and it's so busy."
* The National
