Twin is killed by tram

Manchster, UK -- AN IDENTICAL twin watched in horror as his brother was knocked down and killed by a tram during a night out in Manchester.

Penda Otoo-Kati, 26, who recently graduated as a chartered surveyor, had been out for only an hour with his brother, Shali, and a friend.


The group were walking beside tram lines to the Printworks in the city centre when Penda, who shared a flat with his brother in Withington, was struck at the junction of Windmill Street and Lower Mosley Street near the G-Mex centre.


Police said he was taken unconscious to Manchester Royal Infirmary but died later from his injuries.


As an investigation into the tragedy began, Shali told of his love for his twin brother and recalled the full horror of the collision.


Shali said: "It all just happened in an instant, in the blink of an eye. We just can’t believe he is gone."


Penda’s mother, Florence Otoo, wept as she paid tribute to her "kind and considerate" son and said he had planned to stay home, but went out to see an old friend.

She added: "They were identical twins who did everything together. The entire family just can’t believe it."


Penda, a former pupil at Xavarian College who moved to Manchester from Accra in Ghana eight years ago, graduated from Salford University in July with a degree in quantity surveying.


He had just started his first job as a surveyor at a rail company in Trafford.


On the night of the accident the brothers had agreed to go out for a drink at Deansgate Locks with a close friend of Penda's who was visiting from London for the weekend.


Shali, a contractor for a computer company, told how Penda was "lagging behind" as the group walked.


He turned around seconds later to see his brother lying on the floor under the tram.

Shali said: "I was walking in front of him and I told him to hurry up because he was lagging behind. The tram just passed by and the next thing I looked back and he was underneath the tram and on the floor.


"We were just walking straight near the lines. He was there one minute and then he was just on the floor.


"We had been laughing about how noisy the trams were because one had just blown its horn.


"It was going fast but it happened in an instant - in the blink of an eye. We did everything together and I just can’t understand how it happened." Florence, who works for Manchester City Council’s social services department, said her son was not drunk and did not even want to go out on Saturday, October 7.


She said: "It is a great loss to our family. He was a very bright boy and he was very hardworking. He was also very dependable.


"He loved reading and loved his studying. He was also a very friendly boy and had a close network of friends.

"We just can’t believe he has gone.


"He did not even want to go out but a friend came up from London who he had not seen for a long time.


"He was a real loving son. He would always ring me up about things and we were very close. Everybody knew him."


Shali said a passer-by dialled 999 and police and paramedics attended.


Penda, a keen basketball player, had a pulse and he was rushed unconscious to Manchester Royal Infirmary. Police said efforts to revive him failed and he died from his injuries later.


Shali said his brother was used to Manchester’s tram network and often used them.

He added: "I came over from Leeds to be with Penda and we lived in a flat together. He was a brilliant lad."


Florence added: "He was young but he was very mature. Everybody knew him and it is a great loss to the entire family. He will be sadly missed by all of us and had his whole life in front of him."


Serco Metrolink said the tram involved was travelling to Altrincham. A spokesman said the incident at 12.10am on Saturday was a police matter.


Roads around the area were sealed off for two hours as an investigation got underway. A police spokesman added: "We are appealing for witnesses to come forward."


Anyone with information should call police on +44 161 856 3995.