Woman crushed by water truck

FOR the past two months, Barrackpore villagers at Cumuto Road have been complaining of relying on a truck-borne supply of water and, as fate would have it, an accident involving a water truck has led to the gruesome death of an elderly woman. Edna Mitchell, 95, was pinned to the ground by a water truck on Saturday. The truck was  delivering water to the villagers. According to a police report, it was around 11.30 am when the water truck driver filled a villager’s tank at Battan Trace. Police said that the driver attempted to reverse out of the yard when Mitchell, who was in the villager’s house at the time, stepped outside. According to the report, Mitchell stood behind the truck while it was reversing.

Police said the truck struck Mitchell, and she fell to the ground. One of the wheels reportedly ran over her. Mitchell who became unconscious, she was rushed to the Princes Town Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Mitchell was unmarried, but her two adopted sons — Carl Gomez and Paul Lawrence — lived with her at Battan Trace. Lawrence, who said he did not witness the incident, said his 95-year-old adopted mother was a healthy woman whose only ailment was arthritis. “She had no problems. She could have reached a cool 100 (years),” Lawrence said. Cpl Ali of the Barrackpore Police Station is investigating.