THE horror of the road accident at Nabou between Nadi and Sigatoka is still reverberating around the country.
As police investigations continue, affected families are slowly trying to pick up the pieces.
It will take some time for many of them to get over the shocking scenes at the accident site and the horrific images that were plastered all over social media platforms. Questions are being asked of the events leading up to the accident. The scene of blood and death left an indelible impression on the minds of all those who saw it.
It wasn’t one for the faint-hearted.
There was shock and horror over the extent of injuries visible on Saturday morning along that stretch of the Queens highway, and this was worsened by the images of the crushed vehicles in the aftermath of the vehicle collisions.
Postings on social media forced hundreds more to view first-hand the frightening accident scene. It would have left many people traumatised.
Paulini Raiova had never met Marika Rua, one of the students killed in the road accident.
Their families do not know each other.
There was a link though in the pictures that appeared on social media.
It moved the young girl so much that she had to ask her family to drive her all the way from Narere to Nabou.
She wanted to pay her respects at the scene of the accident.
She wanted to lay flowers.
Paulini, 16, a sixth former at Ratu Sukuna Memorial School in Nabua, could not get the images of Marika, 16, a student of Ratu Navula College, out of her mind.
Her mother, Verenaisi Raiova, said Paulini thought about the accident and especially of Marika, as they were the same age.
“Even though we may not be related, this accident has touched the lives of everyone because young lives were lost. We want to do this to show respect to their families who are mourning the loss of their loved ones,” she said.
The tragedy has raised emotions, and as the family said, touched the lives of many people.
Such incidents show us how fragile life can be.
This is why we must value and protect it.
Lest we forget, let us be vigilant on our roads.
We should be proactive and embrace good defensive driving habits.
Let us adhere to road rules, show road courtesy and common sense, and plan to arrive alive at our various destinations.
