REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PEKANBARU -- A student in Gunung Toar village, Singingi District, Riau province, Rafi Kumar was reported dead after his motorcycle crashed into a stray cattle in a street.
"The paramedics could not save Rafi who had suffered a lot of blood loss after the crash," said the victim's relative, Yanto.
According to Yanto, Rafi was riding his motorcycle to school on Saturday, Feb 15, when a cow suddenly came out from the bushes along the roadside.
"Rafi was unable to dodge the cattle that had appeared in the street all of a sudden, and the crash was unavoidable," Yanto said.
A local resident, who witnessed the incident, took the victim to the local community health center but by then, massive blood loss had happened and Rafi could not be saved.
Gunug Toar village chief Yusrizal, upon hearing the news about a student dying from a collision with a cattle, immediately arrived at the health center.
The local resident also deplored the fact that many cattle owners at Gunung Toar village leave their livestock unattended when they let them off to graze, and this practice at times endangers motorists driving through the area.
About a dozen cases of such collisions involving livestock have been reported, leaving several victims with minor or major injuries. Two such cases, including one that claimed Rafi?s life, proved to be fatal.
Yanto urged the concerned authorities to curb the practice of stray cattle or letting them roam the streets, instead of owners keeping them confined.
Although the local farm workers, in one case, had shot a roaming cattle with a stun gun and the owner was fined Rp1 million, it failed to act as a deterrent, and the practice continues.
There needs to be put a new provision that livestock must not be allowed to roam on the streets since it can endanger motorists.
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