(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Three children died late Tuesday after being hit by a vehicle while they were playing on the street in the northern Governorate of Irbid, official sources said.
The children, aged between three and six years, were playing in front of their house in Taybeh village at around 11:00pm when they were hit by the vehicle, Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Colonel Mohammad Khatib told The Jordan Times.
Khatib did not elaborate on the cause of the accident, saying an investigation was under way.
But a second source told The Jordan Times that speeding "was most probably the cause of the accident because the driver of the vehicle tried to avoid a water tanker and ended up hitting the children".
The three children, two brothers aged three and six and their four-year-old cousin, were killed instantly, the source said, noting that the vehicle demolished the fence of the children's house after striking them.
"The driver of the vehicle was also injured and will be detained after being released from hospital," Khatib stressed.
He is listed in fair condition, according to a Civil Defence Department report.
In Jordan a road accident occurs every four minutes, an injury resulting from a traffic accident occurs every 30 minutes, and a life is lost every 13 hours, according to Central Traffic Department figures.
The figures also indicate that 80 per cent of the accidents in the Kingdom take place in daylight, and 99 per cent occur in clear weather conditions.
