“Wait here. I will be back soon!”
They were the last words Ledua Bulutani said to his wife Olivia Lele on Sunday.
She would never hear from her husband again. Mr Bulutani and his 62-year-old aunt died in a freak accident when the car they were travelling in veered off the road and tumbled down a steep embankment off Princes Rd near Tacirua Settlement outside Suva that day.
They were on their way back from Nakasi with three others when the incident took place.
What started as a normal Sunday for the family turned into a tragedy that she was struggling to come to terms with.
The family had attended a church service in the morning before she was dropped off with their children at home.
“When I received the call a bit later, I knew something was wrong. We rushed to the accident scene and when I saw fire trucks around, I prayed, hoping he was okay,” Ms Lele shared.
“I saw my aunt first, she was lying motionless and then I asked for the driver and bystanders told me that they were trying to get his body out of the car.
“I just didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t stop crying.”
She said she still could not accept her husband was gone because it was so sudden and unexpected. Her five sons have now become a tower of strength for her.
“Whenever they see me crying, they would walk up to me and tell me not to cry because I have them and that they would look after me.”
The deaths on Sunday took the national road death toll to 22 compared with 38 for the same period last year. We have said this before.
Road accidents leave a lasting impression on the minds of those impacted by it.
The World Health Organization says road traffic crashes result in the deaths of 1.35 million people around the world each year and leave between 20 and 50 million people with non-fatal injuries.
More than half of all road traffic deaths and injuries involve vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists and their passengers.
In addition to the human suffering caused by road traffic injuries, they also incur a heavy economic burden on victims and their families, both through treatment costs for the injured and through loss of productivity of those killed or disabled.
Road traffic injuries also have a serious impact on national economies, costing countries 3 per cent of their annual gross domestic product.
Every year we talk about road safety, yet every year accidents continue to happen.
Most accidents happen because we allow them to.
With every report of an accident where someone has died, there are loved ones who are emotionally affected. There are faces and moments of sadness and longing for their loved one to return.
Accidents can happen in a matter of seconds or minutes.
It can be least expected. Life hangs by a thread so to speak. It tugs at the heart when children are involved.
Our challenge is to adhere to road safety rules.
Let’s be responsible and abide by our road laws.
Let’s stay safe on our roads, and make it safe for other users.
