Last Thursday's STAR story about the death of Ashley Wilson is very sad, not only because the seven-year-old is dead, but also because of the circumstances under which she died.

Wilson was hit down by a motor vehicle which swerved around a bus which had stopped to allow her and her older brother to cross the main road in Central Village, St. Catherine.

While the fact that one vehicle stopped and the other swung around it, an all-too-common occurrence, is painful. What is even more disturbing is the 'older brother' who was taking Ashley Wilson to school.

He is 'older' only in the sense of being born a little before her, but not in the sense of being able to provide the necessary guidance and protection.

At nine, he is only two years older than his dead sister.

One can always wonder why a nine-year-old was escorting a seven-year-old to school and there are any number of reasons why this could have happened, most of them economic and related to the family structure. However, it is an all too common occurrence to see little children escorting even smaller ones to school, or even some tiny ones, all by themselves and hunkered down under their baggage, looking like little soldiers tramping their way towards an education.

It is a sad situation and we can only appeal to the adults to find a way to have more grown-up company for their children, or arrange to have them driven on their school treks.