A video of a boy speeding through a pedestrian crossing without looking and a van colliding with him sparked an online debate after assumptions that the driver responded heartlessly to the accident.
CCTV footage was shared on Facebook, showing a silver van approaching the zebra crossing. At the same time, a boy wearing a red shirt with a backpack ran out on the street. He hit the passing van and tumbled to the ground.
The boy quickly got up and walked back to where he exited from before turning back towards the driver who had just alighted the vehicle.
The driver could be seen looking underneath the vehicle while the child stood beside him before the footage ended.
The video sparked comments among netizens who said the driver was “heartless” because he rushed out to check if there were damages to his vehicle.
“After the accident, this driver did not check the victim in the first place to see if he was ok, instead, he check for his vehicle damages. Very selfish and inconsiderate,” said Facebook user Ong Chuan.
However, many pointed out that there was more to the driver’s reaction.
“Hilarious to see so many different views on the same video,” commented Facebook user Tango Tang.
He explained that the boy “rushed across so fast without looking, knocked into the van, and the van wasn’t going very fast.”
This was reiterated by others, who said the driver was able to stop quickly, hence the slow speed.
“The driver knew he knocked something and came out to check if anything was beneath the car as the boy has left the scene, he couldn’t find anything below his (not checking his car as some claimed),” continued Mr Tang.
“The boy came back, the driver didn’t even know he knocked the same boy he was talking to him (maybe after that he might figure out).”
Others reminded motorists to slow down when approaching pedestrian crossings, and those taking it should ensure that the coast is clear as an extra precaution before doing so. /TISG