Mohammed Kamal did not expect his parting words to his son Mohammed Zaif Hassan yesterday morning to be the last his son would ever hear from him.

The late 21-year-old Mohammed Zaif was a passenger in a vehicle that was involved in an accident at Varavu, Ba early yesterday morning.

“I was at the market at 7.30am when a boy called me on the phone to relay the news. His last words were that he was coming to town later,” Mr Kamal said.

He said his son was the eldest of four children and had worked on the family sugarcane farm in Navatu, Ba, where the family resided.

“He was a good boy, obedient child and hard worker on our small farm. We will wait for the post mortem examination then organise the funeral.”

Joel Smith, an eye witness, said he was on his way to work in Ba when he saw the wreckage of a car at the site of the accident at Sarava, Ba at around 8am.

“There’s usually a lot of accidents in that area especially if the speed is high and the road is slippery because of the bad weather,” he said.

“The driver’s clothes were torn, but not much bleeding and fire officers were able to remove him from the wreckage.

“The other car was over speeding and tried to overtake and couldn’t control when he reached the bend and he hit the lamp post,” he said.

“Half the car was ripped off by the lamp post and the fire officers had to remove the wreckage and body.”

Police confirmed the incident in a statement yesterday.

“A man, who was a passenger in a vehicle traveling from Ba to Tavua, died following an unfortunate accident this morning at Varavu, Ba,” the statement read.

“Investigators are still gathering information to determine the cause of the accident. Investigations continue.”

Feedback: nicolette.chambers@fijisun.com.fj