BUS driver Prakash Mudaliar left his Ellington home early last Friday knowing his family were planning to troop down to Rakiraki Town later that morning.
His wife needed to have her eyes examined and his grandchildren needed their school supplies.
He shared his usual 5am cup of tea with his eight-year-old granddaughter Eliza and was on his way, looking forward to catching up with the rest of the family later in the afternoon.
About 11am though, his world was shattered. He received news that son Prakash, along with his wife and two children were involved in an accident at the Malake jetty junction.
Later he found out that Eliza died instantly while her seriously injured parents and younger brother Aaron, six, were rushed to the Lautoka Hospital.
Yesterday, he sat inside their home, distraught and still in shock.
"Prakash is showing signs of recovery but his wife and my grandson are still in serious condition. Eliza was up early that morning. She was a bright girl and she was looking forward to the start of school," he said.
"My wife left earlier for hospital so she was not with them. It's hard to go through each day when you have so many of those close to you in hospital. It makes it worse when you don't have any idea what will happen to them."
The driver, a visitor from New Zealand who gave his family a lift, also succumbed to injuries from the accident last Sunday.
He said Eliza would be cremated on Monday.