Death of a Teenager | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: Death of a Teenager | Previous Challenge Entry
By Robert Rutaagi
12/04/17
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Death of a Teenager

The intercom rang. “Your son wants to talk to you,” Harriet, my personal secretary, said.

“Dad, come! I have been involved in car accident. One person has died. The Police are already here,” Edgar said in a terrified tone.

“Be calm, I am coming immediately.” Gerald, my driver knew what to do whenever there was an emergency. It was an opportunity he loved to demonstrate his driving skills. Within thirty minutes I was with Edgar in the Hospital.

My friend, Jotham, whom I had alerted, by phone, was already there comforting my son who was obviously still in a state of shock. Tony’s body was lying on a table in the casualty department where we all gathered. The deceased’s parents and a few relatives and four police men were there – all speechless. It was as if there was a deaf and dump spell which was broken as soon as I arrived and introduced as Edgar’s father. The situation was so tense that I did not know how to behave.

How could I say or do anything to sympathise with or encourage my devastated son when my counterpart was there watching and his son was lying dead on the table? It was Jotham, an experienced medical doctor and administrator, who saved the situation. He moderated the proceedings from then on.

Edgar was able to narrate what happened. Tony had suddenly jumped into the road, chasing a ball and was hit by Edgar’s car. A Police Officer from a nearby police barracks had rushed to the scene. He advised Edgar to rush Tony to the hospital but died on the way. The presence of the police officer, in a way, mitigated the gravity of the crime. Tony, too, was a son of a police officer in the same barracks.

After postmortem, Tony’s body was sent to the mortuary as further talks and burial arrangements continued. Edgar, in my company, other members of the family and friends, went to the police station to make a statement. The police also carried out a meticulous survey of the scene of accident to establish the facts.

The Police report showed that Tony [RIP] was in the wrong. It also recommended immediate removal of a football pitch from the roadside to avoid future accidents.

The death of an innocent Tony was tragic. Tony lost a whole future he deserved to live. His parents lost a dear son in whom they had a lot of hope. Every police personnel who witnessed the tragedy was torn between supporting their own or a stranger who was a victim of fate that thrived on a human mistake.

Tough negotiations about burial and compensation ensued. Tony’s family incensed with grief – too deep to see any logic of legal implications of going to court made heavy and angry demands. On my side, too, I could not see any legal logic except one that pointed to Tony’s resurrection. What pained me most and still does today, was/is that knowing that secret – my son who even feared killing a cockroach, ended up killing someone else’s son. That haunted me for many months and years. Edgar, too, was haunted. At one time I thought he would develop a phobia for driving.

In economics, demand and supply determine the equilibrium which, in turn, determines the price. In a situation, such as this one, where someone was negotiating a price of a person who had been killed, not for economic transaction but by accident, equilibrium never obtains. I ended up paying heavily but still it was not enough.

It is now 15 years ago since this tragedy happened. I fear meeting Tony’s lest we are reminded of that family tragedy. Whenever Edgar visits, I never get any courage to raise it up. No one in my family ever refers to it. Let it be.

The good news is that what is impossible to man is possible to God. His word always reminds us of His Son’s death at Calvary. John 3:16.

NON-FICTION

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