• Investigations find fatal accident occurred because tanker driver was ‘tired and drowsy’
• Driver’s claim of brake failure found to be false upon inspection
• 68 people killed by water tankers, trucks or trailers over past 83 days, Chhipa data shows

KARACHI: The young couple and their newborn baby, who were killed by the reckless driver of a water tanker at Malir Halt on Monday, were laid to rest amid moving scenes in a local graveyard after funeral prayers on Tuesday.

On the other hand, police also launched an investigation into the incident.

The officials said Abdul Qayum, 25, was taking his 19-year-old full-term pregnant wife Zainab to hospital for a check-up on his motorcycle when the truck driver hit them.

The severely injured woman gave birth to a baby boy immediately after the incident on the road.

The disturbing footage of the incident went viral on social media and shocked the viewers, sparking widespread public outrage against rash truck drivers.

Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed on Tuesday said the child was a full-term baby who died due to “expulsion of abdominal contents”.

The funeral prayers were offered at a Shah Faisal Colony mosque, which were attended by a large number of residents and political activists. The people demanded strict action against rash drivers of heavy vehicles.

68 killed by heavy vehicles

The Chhipa spokesperson Shahid Hussain told Dawn that over the past 83 days of this year, 2025, a total of 68 people had been killed by heavy vehicles.

Among them, 17 people were killed by dumper trucks (loaded trucks), 24 by trailers, 14 by water tankers, eight by buses and five by mini-buses.

The Chhipa spokesperson added that a total of 216 citizens had been killed in road accidents so far this year.

Out of them, 164 victims were men and 23 women. Some 22 boys and seven girls were killed while a total of 2,783 people were injured, as per data maintained by Chhipa about the accidents.

Kraat’s analysis

Traffic DIG Pir Mohammed Shah told Dawn on Tuesday that their newly set up Karachi Road Accidents Analysis Team (Kraat) had carried out assessment of the incident.

He said driver Rahim Bux had been arrested and an FIR registered against him.

The Kraat’s analysis showed that the driver used to work “24 hours continuously”. He was also involved in speeding and the truck went out of control and hit the family. “The driver was tired and drowsy,” he added.

“Preliminary analysis suggests that speeding, driver fatigue, missing road safety infrastructure (barricades, signboards, and under-run protection barriers), and possible negligence were the primary factors leading to this tragic accident,” Kraat’s accident analysis report said.

The driver’s claim of brake failure had been contradicted by mechanical inspection.

It is believed that another motorcyclist, bike number KHK-5197, was also severely injured in the incident. But he went away after the accident.

The tanker driver, Rahim Bakhsh, told police that he worked in a “24-hour shift” followed by 24 hours of rest.

“This suggests that speeding or driver fatigue may have played a role in the accident.”

The tanker was fully loaded with water and had a QR code indicating that it had been dispatched from Safora Hydrant.

“High speed appears to be a primary cause of the accident, as the tanker broke through the footpath barrier before colliding with the vehicles,” the report said, adding that the driver possessed a valid licence.

JI stages protest

A large number of people from all walks of life gathered under the banner of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) at the site of yesterday’s tragic triple murder to stage a protest demonstration.

The protestors demanded justice and stricter measures to prevent reckless driving incidents involving heavy vehicles. They were also chanting slogans against the government and the traffic police high-ups, here on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, JI-Karachi chief Monem Zafar held the chief minister, his team, the city mayor and other officials responsible for the tragedy and the series of killings on roads by heavy traffic.

“It is a matter of shame for the chief minister, for the transport minister and government high-ups that a man, his wife and their unborn child were killed in a reckless driving incident,” he said, adding that unfortunately the government called it a mere administrative issue that should not be taken as a political one.

The government did nothing but hold meetings while 775 Karachiites were killed and over 8,000 injured on the roads during the last one year, he said.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Haleem Adil Shaikh said in a statement that the Sindh government provide compensation to the heirs of the victims.

He asked as to why strict action was not being taken against ‘unfit’ tankers and drivers driving heavy vehicles without licences.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2025