A 51-year-old man from Aopo, Savai'i has been charged with negligence driving causing death over an incident that happened in April of this year, after the four-year-old victim passed away last week. 

Deputy Police Commissioner, Papali'i Monalisa Tiai-Keti confirmed in an interview with the Samoa Observer on Wednesday. 

According to Papali'i, the four-year-old survived the accident after being struck by the car at Fagamalo in April, however the child succumbed to injuries last week.

The medical reports showed that the cause of death led back to internal injuries she sustained from the incident in April. 

"The driver was charged and remanded in custody for negligence driving causing death," Papali'i said. 

"But he was released on bail awaiting his court case scheduled on 5 February 2024. 

"According to the report, the four-year-old was hit by the car in April, but the victim passed away last week. So the driver had been charged as the medical report confirmed that she died from injuries from the car accident."

Papali'i used the opportunity to remind parents and guardians to look after their children and make sure they do not play on the side of the road. 

She said it's going to be busy heading towards the festive season and to look after their kids properly to make sure they are safe. 

Papali'i also confirmed that they are preparing for the festive season and reminded all the drivers to refrain from drinking and driving. 

The ministry will have their Thanksgiving service on Friday this week to also prepare for their Christmas and New Year's operations across the country. 

She said there will be roadblocks to check for drunk drivers and unlicensed drivers. 

For this week, Papali'i said the focus is on the activities happening in town as they are aware of the different festivities in town. 

They have rostered enough people so that they can quickly respond to calls from the general public. 

But they will dispatch their teams out in the communities over the weekend and Christmas Day. 

"We understand people will be going to their families to spend the holidays in the rural areas and Savai'i so we have already allocated and assigned quite a few in the community so they can respond quickly to any possible calls from the public. 

"Our main aim is for us to have safe and happy holidays and we ask everyone for their support. Make sure you drink responsibly and refrain from getting behind the wheel if you've already started drinking. 

"It's better to be safe than sorry."