Ethiopia - A tragic accident

Three days ago I witnessed one of the most horrifying sights of my life. It was in Gonder, Ethiopia after meeting up with two other overlanders – Sam Millar and Peter Loewen – where the shocking event occurred. We were riding in convoy out of town. Tyson was leading followed by Jerry, Peter, Sam and me. It was great to be riding with the others. Seeing the line of bikes glistening in the morning sun brought a smile to my face. But that was quickly wiped away and replaced with a grimace of concentration as the streets began to get crowded.

On our way out of town a donkey trotted nonchalantly in front of Sam’s bike causing him and me to brake hard. We avoided a collision with the donkey - just. But a gap had built up between Sam, me and the rest of the group. That gap was probably what tricked the local boy into thinking the coast was clear. And so, without looking, he darted straight across the road and collided head on with Sam’s bike. A cloud of dust and debris flew up as the terrible spectacle unfolded right in front of my eyes. The boy was thrown like a rag doll to the left side of the road as Sam came to an abrupt halt on the right.

Sam did all he could. He broke hard without skidding and did his best to swerve to avoid the young boy. But the boy just wasn’t looking and there was nothing Sam could do. Even though we were traveling at less than 30mph the collision was severe. By the time Sam and I had pulled over, a crowd had formed around the boy. I could hear gasps of disbelief as I walked slowly over to the motionless body lying on the ground. It was a shocking sight. The boy’s right leg was clearly broken at the shin and his head was misshapen by a rapidly growing bruise. Before I could blink, a local man had whisked the young boy up in his arms causing the boy to stir in pain. It was exactly what you shouldn’t do in this sort of situation, particularly if you think there might be spinal damage. But before I could protest, he had carried the boy limply into a minibus and sped off to the local hospital.

I went over to see Sam. He was clearly in shock, but was handling himself well, all things considered. He asked me whether the boy was dead and I explained that he was alive but badly injured.

As we readied ourselves to go to the hospital a local man told us to wait for the police. Sam followed orders while I hopped on my bike to go and fetch the others. Everyone was shaken by the news - the same thing could have happened to anyone of us – indeed both Jerry and Peter had swerved to avoid the same boy just moments before.

Downtown at the police station, news of the boy’s condition and the repercussions of the crash came to us in piecemeal fashion. Sam and Peter contacted the Canadian embassy and learned that a traffic accident is always the fault of the driver in Ethiopia - a very harsh verdict given that Sam had done nothing wrong. We also learn that a traffic fatality automatically carries a 17-year prison sentence in Ethiopia – an unfathomable amount of time and sobering news indeed. At one point things seem so desperate that we consider smuggling Sam out of the country.

Through hearsay we learn that the boy’s condition is stable. That level of detail just wasn’t sufficient given the severity of the situation. So Tyson and Jerry went to the hospital and performed their own exam. When they returned the news was gloomy. Five hours had elapsed since the crash but nothing material had been done for the boy. He was still in his blood stained clothes, lying dazed and in pain. Only an IV had been put in his arm. No painkillers had been given.

The conditions in the hospital sounded squalid. Hoards of sick and injured people littered the blood stained corridors of the ill-equipped facility. The only positive news from the report was that the boy was responsive to a neurological exam. Tyson and Jerry’s main concern was that the trauma to his head would result in a slow internal bleed. The injury to his leg, though gruesome, would heal.

I hoped they were right about the boy’s leg. But glancing around town I saw too many deformed bodies limping uncomfortably to be certain of that fact. Despite the awful news, Tyson and Jerry delivered their report to Sam in a professional and compassionate manner. I’ve no doubt they’ll make great doctors.

While the Docs had been performing their exam, Peter had gotten in contact with a village elder and lawyer through an ex-pat living in town - a very clever idea. With the lawyer in tow, Sam and I went to the police station to give our statements. Somewhat surprisingly we were turned away, and told to come back at 8:30 the following morning to discuss ‘compensation’. It seems that most traffic incidents in Ethiopia are settled outside the legal system and so formal statements are avoided. Instead the matter is settled by a bargaining process between the injured party and the culprit. It strikes me as extremely barbaric to bargain over the cost of injuries. But thinking about it, that’s exactly what western insurance companies do. The difference is that the insurers agree how much an injury is worth before the accident happens. In Ethiopia, the two main parties have to argue it out in a room.

The following morning the bargaining process began. Being westerners, the Ethiopian family saw the accident as a meal-ticket and demanded 100,000 Ethiopian Birr (approximately 10,000 US Dollars). That’s a very large sum of money in a country with an average income of less than 5000 dollars. Moreover, the Docs had visited the boy that morning and confirmed that his head injury was not as severe as they feared. He was recovering well.

Sam’s opening bid was 2,000 birr – an offer that was turned down in disgust by the boy’s grandfather. The 100,000 figure being demanded by the family seemed to be based on the fact that Sam was accompanied by four western friends who presumably would help out with the bill. So, to speed up negotiations, Tyson, Jerry and I made a big show of leaving. When we left, the bids stood at 50,000 birr from the family and 7,000 for Sam.

On the ride out of town my thoughts were with Sam and particularly with the boy. Sam had done nothing wrong yet was now facing a severe fine. I could only imagine what kind of pain the boy was in, lying in the ill-equipped hospital with his broken leg. The awful experience left me feeling exhausted, as if I’d aged 10 years in a day. I’ve been riding on edge ever since.