Wadi Musa schoolgirl dies in freak accident

AMMAN — A nine-year-old schoolgirl, who was struck by a telephone pole in a freak accident in Wadi Musa on Monday, died as a result of wounds to the head on Tuesday, official sources said.

The accident, which occurred around 11:30am, involved a trailer truck that struck telephone cables on the street, resulting in the telephone pole being uprooted from a side road, according to Traffic Investigation Department Director Lt. Col. Basem Kharabsheh.

“The truck dragged the pole, which fell over a school wall and struck two girls who were standing behind it,” Kharabsheh told The Jordan Times.

The nine-year-old student, Jude, was struck in the head by the pole, which fell on seven-year-old Dana’s feet, injuring them, the traffic official explained.

The two girls were rushed to the Queen Rania Hospital in Wadi Musa, which is located in Maan Governorate some 220km south of Amman, where they underwent several surgeries, according to the hospital director, Fayez Abu Judeh.

“Jude was listed in critical condition and her family insisted on transporting her to King Hussein Medical Centre (KHMC) in Amman against our wishes, since we provided her with the necessary medical treatment,” Abu Judeh explained.

A medical team from KHMC was dispatched to Maan to perform “additional sensitive surgeries on Jude, but her condition remained critical and her family insisted on transferring her to Amman,” he said.

Jude was taken to Amman in an ambulance and died at 3:30am on Tuesday, shortly after being admitted to KHMC, Abu Judeh told The Jordan Times.

Dana was also treated at Queen Rania Hosipital and later transferred to KHMC for further medical follow-up, he added.

Police arrested the 26-year-old truck driver, pending further investigation into the incident, according to a second traffic official, who preferred not to be identified.

“The road was clear and the driver was fully awake but our initial investigation indicated that the telephone cables might have stretched a bit because of the hot weather and became entangled with the roof of the truck,” he explained.

Education Ministry Spokesperson Ayman Barakat was unavailable all day to comment on the incident.