A 55-year-old security guard was fatally knocked down by a pickup van when he was crossing the road near Shyampur Delta Hospital in Dhaka on Tuesday night, police said on Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as Azhar Ali, a resident of Munshiganj district.
Abdul Khan, assistant sub-inspector of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital police camp, said Azhar died on the spot when the speeding pickup van hit him around 11:15pm and sped away.
The body has been kept in the morgue of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
Road accidents in Bangladesh
Road accidents are common in Bangladesh and have been a major cause of death.
Road accidents during the recent Eid-ul-Azha holiday rush claimed 273 lives in just 15 days, even though long-haul buses were operating at night during those days, according to the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samiti (Passenger Welfare Association).
At least 240 road crashes occurred during the July 14- 28 period, BJKS revealed, while presenting its road accident report-2021 at a press briefing on July 30.
In a report released in February 2020, the World Bank pointed out that Bangladesh needs to invest an estimated $7.8 billion over the next decade to reduce road fatalities by half.
The report attributed the high death rate on Bangladesh’s roads to a lack of investments in systemic, targeted, and sustained road safety programs.
