Three-year-old on family trip dies after parked tempo traveller rolls forward in TVM

A three-year-old girl was killed after a tempo traveller rolled over her at Amboori in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday evening. The victim, Rithuvedha, was the daughter of Anu Prasad and Nisa, natives of Kuttiyanikkodu in Aryancode. The accident occurred at around 5.30 pm on the Kurichikkad bridge during a family outing.

According to the Neyyardam police, Rithuvedha was part of a 12-member group that had travelled to the area on the tempo traveller. The vehicle was parked on the bridge, which has a slope, with the handbrake engaged. Family members had stepped out of the vehicle and were dancing on the road while music was being played from inside the van.

Police said the music suddenly stopped, prompting Rithuvedha's father to get into the vehicle, release the handbrake and start the engine. He then stepped out to rejoin the others. However, the handbrake was not properly engaged, causing the vehicle to roll forward.

"Seeing the vehicle move, he rushed back and tried to stop it by pulling the handbrake, but was unsuccessful. By then, the van had run over the child before crashing into the bridge barricade and coming to a halt," a police officer said. Rithuvedha sustained critical injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was declared dead.

Her body has been kept at Neyyar Medicity Hospital and will be shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, for a postmortem examination on Monday. It will be handed over to the family afterwards. Police have launched an investigation into the incident and are recording statements from witnesses.