THERE have been calls for urgent action to prevent a fatal tragedy after a child was struck by a car outside his school on a busy Fermanagh road.
The schoolboy, who was taken to hospital but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, was hit by the vehicle on the Dernawilt Road outside Roslea last week, at a bus stop where school children in the area are dropped off.
Police said the boy suffered a minor injury in the collision, which happened at around 6pm last Tuesday evening (November 5). The NI Ambulance Service said it had been called out to the incident and took one patient to the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH).
A local shop owner has since called on something to be done before a child loses their life, explaining that the pupils have to cross the busy 60mph road from the bus stop to the shop on the other side so they can be collected by their parents.
Speaking to the Irish News, Jim O’Neill said it was “only a matter of time” before a tragedy unless safety measures are put in place.
“So many children from schools right across the area get dropped off at that bus stop, and they have to make a run for it across the road,” said Mr O’Neill, who owns the Costcutters on the Dernawilt Road.
Mr O’Neill said he has been raising this concern for a long time now, and hopes a planned new park-and-ride facility for the area could help improve the situation.
“We have been warning for years that unless this is sorted, a child will be killed here,” he said.
“At the very least, without a crossing there, we need lighting and a 50mph limit until the park and ride is built, so the kids can get dropped off there rather than at the side of a busy main road.”
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