BY CIARAN WOODS
A STRABANE Primary School has taken the step of writing to parents to warn them of the dangers at a building site in the town, following a recent incident.
St Mary's Boys School on the Melmount Road has sent the letter to all parents urging "extreme caution" going to and from school due to the ongoing work at the site of the new Holy Cross College.
According to the letter from principal John McGinley, "There was a potentially dangerous incident when a P4 child could have sustained serious injury when he came into contact with a moving vehicle."
The letter also stressed that "Children and parents should be extremely vigilant especially when making their way to and from the Church car park."
The principal concluded by saying that he had made his concerns known to the main contractor, O'Hare and McGovern.
The mother of the young boy involved, who wished to remain anonymous, approached the Strabane Chronicle to highlight the problem with vehicles entering the building site at the new Holy Cross College on the Melmount Road. She said that her son, who luckily suffered only bruising, "could have been killed," and called for something to be done to avoid a potential tragedy.
She explained that she had collected her son and other children from St Mary's Boys Primary School, and they were making their way back towards the church car park opposite. As they crossed the entrance to the site, her son stepped ahead of the others, and was struck by a jeep which was turning in from the Melmount Road.
The boy had no serious injuries but was said to be "extremely shaken" by the event. He attended hospital, and suffered a knee bruised, and some facial bruising.
His mother said, "His only reason for running as quickly as he could across that road was to get across it before any other traffic would come down the road in the other direction. We all genuinely thought that he was turning into the chapel car park, because he didn't stop or indicate to say that he was turning into the site. Drivers come in and out at speed. I've almost been hit twice myself by delivery lorries. They take both turns in one go, and I've had to slam on the brakes myself a few times.
"It has to be highlighted before a child is killed or seriously injured. The school has sent out letters to parents, but parents can only do so much. It's up to the drivers and workers on the site to make sure they're driving carefully, they have to watch out. There needs to be something done to make the drivers be more careful. There should be something at the entrance to make them slow down, a barrier or ramps which will force them to slow down and stop.
The mother is calling for action to be taken, and for safety measures to be put in place to make sure such an incident is not repeated, or with more tragic consequences. With work due to continue for another 12 months at least, she has urged those with influence to heed the warnings of last weeks events which were extremely traumatic for both her and her children.
"My son could have been killed. He's seven and a half years old and he actually turned round and said to me, 'Mummy, I thought I was going to heaven.' It's an awful sight for a mother to have to stand and watch her son get hit and not to be able to do anything about it. They're not considering the members of the public, those who are walking along the road.
"The next child might be smaller, and might not be so lucky. If it had been someone pushing a pram, or an old person, they would have had no chance," she concluded.
