PASIR GUDANG: The eldest son of a couple who died in an accident believed to be caused by a drink driver is still reeling from the loss.
The 15-year-old said when his friend told him that his parents were involved in an accident, he hoped that at least one of them would still be alive.
The couple died after their motorcycle was struck by a driver believed to be under the influence of alcohol at a traffic light junction on Jalan Bandar/Jalan Masjid here, early yesterday morning.
The couple left behind five children aged between 17 and 3. The eldest daughter has a disability, and the son is the second child.
"Normally, I don't wake up in the middle of the night, but on the day of the incident, I woke up at 3am. I searched for my mum and dad but they were not there. Dad usually leaves for work as a lorry driver at that time.
"That day, dad had dropped mum off for her job as a waitress in Johor Baru. I couldn't get back to sleep until a friend knocked on the door and informed me that dad had had an accident.
"I called my grandmother and asked her to help me go to the accident site as we had no transport. When my younger sibling, who was with my grandmother, told me dad was gone, I didn't believe it and asked a friend to go with me to the scene.
"On the way there, I just hoped that one of them would still be alive for us. But when we arrived, both had passed away," he said at his grandmother's home here, today.
The couple were buried at the Taman Cahaya Masai Islamic Cemetery yesterday afternoon.
The son said three days before the incident, the couple had reminded him, as the eldest son, to take care of his siblings.
"Mum and dad told me to never leave my siblings, no matter what happens. Take care of them.
"My youngest sibling knows mum and dad are gone. I told him mum passed away, and he asked where Dad was. I told him dad had passed away too.
"Last night, I asked him if he wanted to see pictures of mum and dad. He said yes, so I showed him on my phone, and he started crying."
The boy said a neighbour had seen his mother before the accident, dressed entirely in white, with a glowing face, when she delivered food to their home.
"Mum worked as a waitress. The employer often gave food to be shared with our neighbours, and mum would deliver it.
"The neighbour told me that on the last day mum delivered food, she wore a white headscarf, white top, and white trousers," he said.