Mum Tells Of Island Road Accident As Son Recovers Well At CWM Hospital
The family was on their way to Tarukua Village to board the ship back to Suva after spending the holidays there.
Sunday 10 January 2021 | 11:26
The airstrip at Tarukua Village in Cicia, Lau. INSET: Joseva Delai at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital.
Three-year-old, Joseva Delai, is recovering well at the Colonial War Memorial (CWM) following a freak accident at Mabula Village in Cicia, Lau, on Wednesday.
The family was on their way to Tarukua Village to board the ship back to Suva after spending the holidays there.
The following is Joseva’s mother, Vilisi Delai’s account as it unfolded.
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“We were going up a very steep road when the car engine stopped halfway,” she said.
“My husband thought of getting off to put a rock behind the rear tyres to stop the truck from slipping.
“He was unable to do so and the driver was the only one who knew how to open the passenger doors.
“The driver told us that he had to reverse the truck so that they would be able to start the engine again.”
Ms Delai was carrying her one-year-old daughter while Joseva and her four-year-old sister were by her side.
Joseva Delai at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital.
The other passengers were Mr Delai, and a man in his 70s, Police said.
“Just when he was reversing the truck on the steep hill, I could hear him shout, ‘Oilei Tamaqu’, that’s when I knew something was really wrong,” she said.
“The truck rolled backward downhill and the driver lost control of his vehicle.”
Ms Delai said the last thing she remembered was holding her children tightly as the truck tumbled.
“I lost consciousness and when I woke up, I was lying on the gravel road with my children a distance away from me.”
When she regained consciousness her eldest daughter was walking towards her, her one-year-old was sitting on the side of the road in shock.
“I looked around and that’s when I saw Joseva lying still on the roadside,” she said.
“His head was bleeding and must have hit his head on a rock when he was thrown out of the tumbling truck,”
On Wednesday afternoon, he was flown to CWM Hospital with her while the rest of the victims were conveyed to Suva by boat with a medical officer.
“He has a deep cut through his skull and has had a scan and blood tests,” he said.
“He is recovering well,” she said.
Police investigations still continue.
Edited by Ranoba Baoa
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