THE husband of the woman car driver suspected of being involved in the fatal crash that killed three Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Dungun students wants to apologise to the victims' families on behalf of his wife, reported the New Straits Times.
Azhar Ahmad, 53, said he cried and was deeply saddened by the accident.
"On behalf of my wife, I wish to apologise from the bottom of my heart and bow in front of all the families of the students involved.
"I intended to meet with all the families of the students involved that very night to apologise, but I had to delay it based on advice from the authorities and friends," he said.
Azhar said his wife, Norizan Ismail, 49, had always been a kind and loving wife and mother.
"Ten years ago, when she was pregnant with our fourth child, the doctors confirmed that it was an ectopic pregnancy, and the baby had to be aborted.
"While receiving treatment at Kuala Terengganu Hospital, she fell into a coma for four days and lost a significant amount of blood," he told the New Straits Times.
Wife was experiencing hallucinations
After regaining consciousness, he said his wife began experiencing hallucinations and would talk to herself and despite all kinds of treatment, there was no improvement.
"However, despite everything, she is very affectionate towards her children and grandchildren and still fulfils her responsibilities," said Azhar, who has been married to her for 30 years.
On the day of the incident, he said he had performed Maghrib prayers with his youngest child and was shocked to find that his wife, who had been watching television, was no longer in the living room.
He said he noticed the front gate open and her shoes and clothes missing.
"She never goes out at night. If she does go out, it's always with me or the children. Even when she goes out during the day, she just drives to her favourite cafe near the campus," he said.
He said he wanted to search for his wife, but since it was close to Isyak, he decided to pray first.
"Just a few minutes later, I received a call from a friend informing me that my car had been involved in an accident. I immediately took my youngest child and went to the scene," he said.
Shocked to see a body on the road
Upon arriving, he was shocked to see the body of a student lying on the road.
"I thought there was just one victim, but it turned out there were three. I was devastated. After my wife was taken by the police, I went to the location of the bodies and tried to find the victims' families to apologise. I was informed that all the victims were not from Dungun.
"I left the scene immediately after being instructed by the police to go to the station to give my statement," he told the New Straits Times.
Azhar added that the following morning, he wanted to meet the victims' families at Dungun Hospital, but was advised against it to avoid any conflict.
He hopes the management of UiTM Dungun will assist him in meeting with the families of all the victims.
On Wednesday, three students from UiTM Dungun were killed, and another was severely injured when a car driven by a woman crashed into their motorcycles at 7.20 pm.
The driver, a 49-year-old woman believed to be mentally ill, had been remanded for four days. - October 11, 2024
