A woman and her two-year-old daughter were killed in a tragic road accident in Sitakunda after the child fell from a moving motorcycle on the Dhaka–Chattogram highway. The mother, identified as Tarin Akter, reportedly lost her life while attempting to save her daughter from the busy roadway.

The accident occurred on Friday night near the BMA Gate area in Bhatiary Union of Sitakunda Upazila. According to police and local sources, Tarin Akter had travelled to a local fair with her husband and their daughter, Yasa, during the weekly holiday. The family was returning home by motorcycle when the incident took place.

Witnesses said the child had been seated between her parents on the motorcycle. During the journey, the two-year-old girl accidentally slipped and fell onto the road from the moving vehicle. In an immediate attempt to rescue her daughter, Tarin Akter also fell onto the highway.

At that moment, a fast-moving covered van travelling behind the motorcycle struck her. She died at the scene after being crushed under the vehicle. Local residents and passers-by rushed to assist the injured child and arranged emergency transport to Chattogram Medical College Hospital. However, doctors declared the child dead upon arrival.

Police said the covered van fled the scene immediately after the collision, and efforts are continuing to identify the vehicle and its driver. Officers from Baro Aulia Highway Police Station visited the site soon after receiving reports of the crash.

M A Haque, officer-in-charge of the highway police station, said investigators were examining nearby surveillance footage and collecting information from witnesses in an effort to trace the vehicle involved. He added that legal proceedings had been initiated in connection with the incident.

Tarin Akter worked as an office assistant and computer typist at the Chattogram Divisional Commissioner’s Office. Colleagues described her as a polite, sincere, and responsible employee whose sudden death had deeply shocked the workplace.

Abdullah Al Mamun, assistant commissioner (land) of Sitakunda Upazila, said the incident was extremely painful for everyone who knew her. He remarked that despite risking her own life in an attempt to save her daughter, both mother and child ultimately lost their lives in the accident.

Road safety experts in Bangladesh have repeatedly expressed concern over the growing number of motorcycle-related fatalities across the country. Overcrowded highways, speeding vehicles, limited use of protective equipment, and unsafe seating arrangements for children are frequently identified as major contributing factors in such incidents.