Seven-year-old Rohit Poojary died after he was hit by a mini-truck in Gurupura on the outskirts of the city on Thursday.
The residents of Gurupura village resorted to a snap protest demanding widening of the narrow National Highway 169 stretch between Mangalore and Moodbidri.
According to eye-witnesses, the driver of the mini-truck lost control over the vehicle while coming down the gradient near Gurupura.
It reportedly hit Rohit, a class 2 student of Pompai English Medium School, who was waiting for a vehicle to go to school around 8.30 a.m. Rohit was standing along with his elder brother Dhanush R. Poojary.
Mohammed Rafiq, a local private vehicle driver, who was driving on the same road, took the help of residents and moved Rohit to a hospital near Balmatta Junction in Mangalore. Rohit sustained serious injuries on the back of his head and was admitted to the ICU of the hospital. He died in the evening.
The incident led residents of Gurupura to block traffic on the busy National Highway 169 stretch between Mangalore and Moodbidri. The residents were angry over the delay in widening of the road that has been converted into national highway a decade ago.
The narrow stretch, the residents felt, has led to a number of accidents, especially in the last few months.
ProtestThe residents burnt tyres and stopped the movement of traffic till noon. Additional police personnel were brought to maintain peace in the area.
