Sereana Tale Waqatini says they are trying to come to terms with the fact that her nephew Ropate Ledua is no more.

The 22-year-old man was trapped in a vehicle that he was driving, after it had veered off the road causing it to land in a nearby river.

The accident occurred after 10pm near the Navave bridge in Bua.

Ms Waqatini said her nephew had been living with her at Nasawana Village in Bua for the last three years.

She said when the late Mr Ledua finished high school he did not want to attend tertiary, so he was told to start farming to help his parents with his sibling’s education.

“Ropate is the eldest of five children and hails from Yadrana Village in Lakeba, Lau.

“I am his mother’s younger sister.”

“My nephew was a quiet and kind boy who would always listen and never talk back,” Ms Waqatini said.

“I still can’t believe that he has passed away and it hurts that he was suddenly taken away from us.”

Ms Waqatini said there was a passenger that wanted to board the early morning boat from Nabouwalu and had asked her husband to drop him.

She said on Saturday night while baking, my youngest child started crying and she asked her husband to put the child to bed.

“My nephew came to us and said that the passenger wanted to leave, and I told him that my husband was making our baby sleep and after that he would go and drop him.”

“After a few minutes my nephew came again, and I told him to tell the passenger that my husband knew the time the boat would depart and for them not to rush.”

She said when her husband looked for the car key they could not find it and realised that Mr Ledua had driven the passenger to Nabouwalu.

Easter Plans
Ms Waqatini said she had told his nephew to spend Easter with his family in Suva.

“He changed his mind and said that he will be spending Easter with us,” she said.

“Tomorrow (Today) he was supposed to go to the farm and get root crops to take to Suva.

“I wish this was all a dream.”

Efforts to contact Ledua’s family in Suva remained futile when this edition went to press last night.

In a statement, Police said the victim was taken to the Nabouwalu Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Investigation continues.

The national road death toll currently stands at 8 compared to 9 for the same period last year.

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