Sumit is 12 year old boy living in Mumbai slums and selling pens on roadside for living.

Recently, he met with a very serious accident and now, he is fighting for his life in the ICU. He cannot live without the much-needed medical attention, but his family’s financial condition is making it all the more difficult.

Sumit is unconscious due to a traumatic brain injury

Sumit met with a very serious accident while selling pens on roadside. A trailer truck rammed into him and tremendous impact resulted in a severe head injury. His brain is extremely swollen in areas and he has been unconscious for almost a week now.

Sumit is very critical and the doctors have no idea when he’d regain consciousness. His parents who were shocked on hearing this, are trying their best to provide for his treatments as he has been supported by the ventilator in the ICU for over a week.

Sumit has also suffered from multiple serious bruises on his body and face, which need constant medical attention too. Arun, Sumit’s older brother, has been by his side at the hospital for the past week.

“I have stayed at the hospital ever since the incident and Sumit hasn’t even moved. He hasn’t opened his eyes and no one has any idea when he’ll come back to normal. His condition is extremely critical and he needs to stay in the ICU for at least a few weeks more.” – Arun

Sumit has noble ambitions.

“Sumit loves playing cricket and in our village, he enjoys playing kabaddi too. This happened so suddenly and his entire life has come to a standstill. I ask the doctors about his condition every day and they keep saying that he is still very critical. I really want him to recover soon.” – Arun

Suffering from a fatal brain injury, Sumit is now unconscious in a hospital and no one has a clue when he will open his eyes again. Since his brain has been severely affected, it’s also unsure if he’ll be able to regain some of his functionalities back. His entire life has turned upside down in a flash and now, he’s in the ICU and cannot survive without medical attention.

Sumit needs to be in the ICU

The 12 year old is unconscious and is assisted by the ventilator following his accident. His brain is suffering from a traumatic injury and in order to survive he needs to be kept in the ICU for the next few weeks.

The costs, which just keep on increasing, are too hefty for his family to bear. His father, raghuram, is finding it very difficult to help save his son and is running out of time to provide for the treatments Sumit needs.

Sumit needs immediate help

Raghuram works as a laborer and earns around Rs. 6000 a month. Through a meager salary, he has to provide for his 3 sons and his wife. Seema, Sumit’s mother, is a housewife. Their eldest son, Arun, has just passed 12th and is looking for a job. They have absolutely no savings and are completely taken apart after seeing Sumit’s horrific injuries.

The bills have already crossed Rs. 4.5 lakhs and after begging and borrowing from his relatives and friends, Raghuram has managed to pay only around Rs. 40,000. He has no financial means to provide for his son’s additional treatments and has exhausted all he has.

The total cost for Sumit’s sustained treatments in the ICU is estimated to be around Rs. 12 lakhs. Now, Sumit’s family has no option but crowdfunding.

How you can help

12 year old Sumit’s condition is very critical. He is suffering from a horrific brain injury after being hit by a trailer truck. He needs to be kept in the ICU and treated for the next few weeks but his father has no way to provide for his treatments. He is now running out of time and needs your support.

Your support will save Sumit.

• Take the patient to the hospital or call 108.
• Inform the police and tell about what you saw on the spot of the accident. But the police will take your account of the accident as a written statement only if you allow.
• If you have gone to the police station you need to lodge an FIR (First Information Report) giving detailed account about what you have seen on spot.
• If you are an eye witness and wish to provide written statement then you need to come to the police station and give a written and signed complaint. In the complaint one needs to provide personal contact number. Later you need to attend the hearing of the court

1. Police reaches the spot

2. Records statements of victim, offender and also eyewitnesses around

3. Draw the sketch at the spot of the accident

4. Detain the vehicle, which causes the accident. The vehicle is then subjected to Motor Vehicle Inspection to find out if the accident has occurred due to a mechanical defect of the vehicle or the fault of the driver

5. Procure medical certificate from the hospital. The medical certificate would describe the kind of the accident and type of injuries to the victim(s).

6. After investigation, the police file a “charge sheet” at thecourt stating the details of the accident and who committed it. Post this, prosecution proceedings against the accused begin in the judicial system

As our country is growing economically, so are the road traffic accidents. Apart from the obvious damage, the increase in these road traffic accidents is also creating hurdles in the economic growth of the nation. This author believes that human resource is the biggest resource. Every year the nation is losing 1.5 lakh people and a similar number of them are being disabled permanently, if they survive such accidents. Road accident does not spare any section of the society whether a person is poor or rich, unskilled or highly skilled. Majority of them are in the age group of 20-40 years and are usually the bread earners of the family.

I also believe that health, education and nutrition are the fundamental needs of any person. As we know, our nation is struggling to meet the basic needs like heath, education and nutrition. The road traffic accidents are depleting the resources meant for these basic needs. The injuries caused by road mishaps are not only causing physical disability but also causing economic disability.

After the traffic accidents, everybody becomes poorer than what he or she was earlier. Fifty per cent of the families are either borrowing money from someone or selling their assets like land, house, cattle, vehicle, ornaments etc for the treatment of their beloved. But unfortunately, in spite of the best available treatment in our country one-fourth to a half of accident victims remain temporarily or permanently disabled and unfortunately but practically become a liability to their family.

A Study conducted in 2016 by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP) revealed that India loses $58 billion annually due to road accidents which is worth about three per cent of the GDP. If we consider only the estimated monetary loss which is spent by the patient and his/her family in the hospital it adds up to about `2,000 crore annually.

One will recall a major bus accident took place at Pauri district in Uttarakhand recently in which 48 out of 60 people died. Similarly, in a recent Himachal Pradesh accident 52 out of 98 passengers died and in Maharashtra, 32 people out of 33 died. In a recent police report, it was found that about 15,000 accidents are occurring annually in Uttarakhand out of which 10 per cent are fatal accidents leading to death of the driver and passenger. Of those who survive, 25 to 50 per cent become handicapped.

In the last 10 years, the numbers of road traffic accidents have doubled in India whereas they have decreased by one third in China. Among the major reasons behind the road traffic accidents are sleep deprivation and alcohol intake while driving. The existing mental, social and financial pressure on the drivers give them a kick to over speed even on congested roads which leads to road traffic accidents.

Over speeding, overtaking and over loading are also responsible for increasing number of road traffic accidents. It has also been scientifically proven that when speed increases the number of accidents tend to increase. According to a police report three-fourth of vehicles on the Yamuna expressway had been found to be over speeding. According to a police survey conducted in the mountain State of Uttarakhand, the major causes of road accidents are over speeding or over loading. The people are trying to save time by over speeding and over taking to waste the time on the social media instead.

The increasing desire to stay connected on social platforms has become so addictive in recent years that people have the urge to use it even while driving vehicles. This is very dangerous as has also been published in many reports that state that mobile phones are the cause of fatal accidents with the number of such mishaps rising day by day.

In a 2017 Government report published, it was found that the risk of fatality is 40 per cent in case of people who are driving and simultaneously using mobile phones resulting in an accident. Some time ago in Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh), 13 children died because the driver was using the mobile phone with earphones while crossing a railway line and he could not hear the horn of the train and the shouting of the school children who were trying to alert him about the incoming train.

A visual experiment was conducted in Hong Kong where it was shown that the 5-6 seconds it takes one to take out a mobile phone, unlock it and read the messages, are enough to cause fatal accidents. No message or call is so urgent, attending which can’t be deferred by a few minutes. If they are so important, one should stop the vehicle at the side of the road and only then respond to them. Driving safely and staying safe while driving is more important rather than trying to stay connected 24×7 on the social media.

Road traffic accidents are on the increase all over the world but the incidence of accidents is more in India where there is a need for comprehensive measures to prevent them, treat them at a proper time and at an optimum cost.

There should be a national mission to make the general public aware about the road safety rules and regulations. Contributing its bit, this author’s organisation too has been conducting such awareness programmes since 2005.

As part of such efforts, one shares his experience with the students of schools and colleges who are the target population-also stressing that a single accident can change physical, mental, social and financial status of the injured person.

According to a study, 90 per cent of accidents are due to driver carelessness and only 10 per cent are due to other causes like ill maintained roads and vehicles. If we follow the traffic rules honestly the chances of accidents can be reduced significantly. I believe that nowadays one cannot complete formal education, go to their place of work or go to other places without driving a vehicle or being driven by someone else to reach the place of learning or work.

Just by knowing the above facts, one should realise the importance of driving in our day to day lives. Our country is having many hundreds of thousands of educational institutions but not even a few hundred driving schools. Driving schools could have played a big role in decreasing the number of road traffic accidents.

The students should be made to use helmets while using two-wheelers and use seatbelt while in four-wheelers. Human resource is the biggest resource and we should try to save it. For this, whenever you are using the roads always think about road safety and your safety.