She may not have come of age, but a five-year-old girl, Sonia, showed exemplary courage and presence of mind and tried to save her father who was seriously injured in a road accident.
The incident took place on Sunday night near Thapli in Morni when the car they were travelling in skidded off the road and rolled down a hill before getting stuck in trees. Sonia’s father, 37-year-old Charan Singh, who was working with the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC) as a security guard and was deployed at the IT Park in Panchkula, died in the accident while his friend Ajay sustained serious injuries. Sonia escaped unhurt. The police said Ajay was driving the car on an unpaved stretch between Chakoh village and Thapli. On their way back to Ramghar, Ajay failed to negotiate a sharp curve and the car rolled down 20 feet down the hill.
Sonia, who is a Class 1 student, managed to get out of the car, which had turned turtle, and climbed up the hill in the dark and stopped a motorcyclist and asked him to help his father. She also helped her father get out of the car.
Talking to HT outside the mortuary of the Panchkula General Hospital in Sector 6, Sonia, who was not aware of the death of her father, said after the car rolled down the hill, she saw her father bleeding profusely. “I got out of the car through a broken window and reached the road. I stopped an uncle on a motorcycle and asked him to help my father,” said Sonia.
{{/usCountry}}Talking to HT outside the mortuary of the Panchkula General Hospital in Sector 6, Sonia, who was not aware of the death of her father, said after the car rolled down the hill, she saw her father bleeding profusely. “I got out of the car through a broken window and reached the road. I stopped an uncle on a motorcycle and asked him to help my father,” said Sonia.
{{/usCountry}}Her mother Satya Devi said: “Sonia remembers my and her father’s mobile numbers. She gave my number to the motorcyclist who informed us.”
The police also lauded the presence of mind displayed by Sonia.
The deceased, Charan Singh, who hailed from Chakoh village in Morni, was living in a rented accommodation in Ramghar with his wife and two children.
Hemraj Sharma, a daily wage earner, said his brother Chain Ram Dutt along with others rescued the victims after Sonia signalled him to stop. Charan had come out of the car, while Ajay was stuck in the vehicle with his leg and hand crushed.
The police was informed and the injured were rushed to the Panchkula General Hospital where Charan was declared brought dead while Ajay was referred to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, with multiple fractures and head injury.