An eight-year-old boy and a motorcyclist who tried to save him were killed in a road accident in Kolikandi Battala area on Pabna-Kushtia highway in Ishwardi upazila on Sunday night.
The deceased child was identified as Alif, 8, son of Zahid Hossain of Koladi village in Pabna Sadar upazila. The identity of the motorcyclist could not be determined immediately.
Md Nannu Khan, officer-in-charge (OC) of Pakshi Highway Police Station, said Alif had gone to Pakshi with his mother and was returning home in a CNG-powered auto-rickshaw.
The vehicle was carrying several passengers. As it reached the Kolikandi Battala area, it swerved slightly, causing Alif to slip from his mother’s lap and fall onto the road.
Seeing her son fall, the mother jumped from the moving auto-rickshaw to save him, said police .
At that moment, the unidentified motorcyclist travelling along the highway tried to rescue the child but before he could do so, a speeding truck coming from the opposite direction struck both the child and the motorcyclist, leaving them dead on the spot.
Police recovered the bodies and seized the motorcycle involved in the accident.
The truck and the auto-rickshaw drivers, however, managed to escape.
Alif’s injured mother was taken to Ishwardi Upazila Health Complex for treatment.
Police said efforts are underway to trace the vehicles and those responsible.