on January 6, 1970, The Fiji Times reported that an 18-year-old man died when the truck he was riding in left the road at Vaivai, near Lautoka.

The report stated that sugarcane farmer Pradeep Singh was rushed to Lautoka Hospital and died of severe head injuries after emergency surgery.

The police report alleges that Pradeep Singh’s father, Harbhans Singh, drove the Bedford truck down a hill, the hood opened and blocked Harbhans’ view.

While his wife Prabha Wati, 45, her children Roselyn Lata, 20, Praneet Kuar, 17, and granddaughter Sanil Salochna Devi, 3, sat in the front of the vehicle, Harbhans’ two sons, Pradeep and Rakesh Chand, 24, and their neighbor , Sheikh Afzal, 40, stood in the back.

Harbans was on his way to his sugar cane farm when the brakes failed as the truck sped downhill.

His other daughter, Kuar, suffered minor injuries and a broken left leg.

Together with their mother, who had been admitted to the recovery ward, Kuar and Lata had been admitted to the women’s surgical ward and were due to be released the following week.

Despite a broken left arm and facial injuries, Harbhans was in stable condition.

Afzal and Sanil were also admitted to the recovery ward. They were expected to stay in the hospital for a few weeks.

Wati was taken to the operating room after suffering head injuries, although her condition was declared satisfactory.

Lata, her pregnant daughter, was reportedly in a satisfactory condition despite facial injuries.

Sanil Devi was in the female surgical ward with facial injuries and a shattered left arm, but she was in stable condition.

According to the article, former Acting Medical Superintendent Dr. Raghwa Narayan stated that Pradeep had suffered multiple internal injuries.

Police had said the bumpy road conditions caused the hood to open and block Harbhans’ view, and the truck, which was gaining speed on the descent, had crashed into a drain, trapping all three passengers in the back of the truck had been thrown. out for impact.

Pradeep was unconscious when he was taken to hospital and died later in the day.