A family who recently lost a 16 year old son in a sporting accident at a local college wants answers on how it happened. The family alleges the college was negligent.
Samoa Observer reports the incident happened at St. Josephs College at Lotopa, last Friday, when David Manuele fell on the concrete floor during a ‘’sack race’’ and hit his head on the concrete.
The student’s uncle, Ulugia David Paono, was dismayed at the school for organizing a sports event in the school hall.
“A sack race game held in the hall on a hard surface? My concern was about safety risk. The teachers’ negligence led to this,” he said.
“He fell and hit his head on the floor. No first aid was applied and the ambulance was late. The teachers didn’t even think of how dangerous the situation is,” he said. “They took it lightly.”
David Manuele was the second of eight children of Ulugia’s sister, Fatima and her husband, Manuele.
There has been no response from the school regarding the incident.
Ulugia added that his nephew’s death should not be in vain but a lesson to all schools.
“Let the passing of my nephew be a lesson to all schools, sports activities should have a risk assessment and First Aid on standby,” he said.
