an accident photo snagged from google imageLast weekend was a bit of an eye opener for me. And also something to pause and reflect deeply. About life that is so precious. About how some of us took for granted the very basic of safety in the car precisely.
Last saturday we got to know that a friend of the husband had met with an accident. It was a major accident. She was travelling with her husband, 3 children and both her parents. Sadly, her mother was killed in the accident but the rest were still alive, thankfully!
When we reached the hospital, there were many people loitering around the ward area. We assumed they were the relatives of them. We managed to speak to her husband; he was treated as an outpatient due to minor injuries suffered but his wife was in bad shape. We were told that part of her liver had ruptured and that she'd have to go for surgery. She was still under observation and was heavily sedated when we visited her. We were surprised to see her father was well and not a scratch on his body. He is one lucky man indeed.
Then we went to the 8th floor - the paediatric ward. All her 3 children were safe, Alhamdulillah. The eldest child was covered with minor cuts and bruises all over her body and she was a bit upset. She was wailing. Later we found out that she was crying for her grandma. We weren't sure if she had known the truth about her grandma. The second child was ok. He was also treated as an outpatient and only had cuts on his head. But the youngest child's condition made my heart weeped. His left arm and right leg were bandaged, his face was swollen like a balloon and we were told that he had suffered a fall on his head. How bad it is we don't know. He's only 14 months old. The prognosis was not good. The impact of the fall caused his brain to swell. His brain could be partly damaged. However it is only a prognosis, nothing is certain yet. Pray hard to Allah that he'll be alright and back on his two feet again. It is so hard to imagine a child that young would be disabled for his whole natural life.
Only later we found out how the accident happened. They were traveling in an MPV going north for the holidays when the car skidded somewhere in Tanjung Malim after trying to avoid something infront. Apparently a canvas from a truck had fallen on the road causing the driver to swerve the car to the right but he lost control of the wheel. The car was rolling all over like a ball until it came to a halt. The car had landed on its top! The grandmother was thrown forcefully out of the window and her head smashed on the road. She was killed instantly. When they found her, she was clutching the baby tightly to her chest. Blood was splattered all over the place. It was a heartwrenching scene. From the info that we gathered, we came to know that the grandfather had escaped unhurt because he had worn the seatbelt. None of the other passengers in the car wear it not even the driver himself! Can you imagine the speed that they were travelling on a highway without wearing seatbelts? It is tantamount to reckless endangerment. The baby should have been strapped to a baby car seat not on a lap.
Accidents may occur even if we are careful with driving and take all the necessary precautions. That is fate. But I just can't help thinking that if only they had fastened their seatbelts, the casualty could have been reduced. The grandmother's life would have been spared.
