Teen Saves Cousin’s Life In Bus Crash

Vereisi Vasunaqali was proud of her daughter Wainikiti Nagale’s heroic efforts to save her eight-year-old cousin Leone Vasunaqali’s life in an accident on Monday.

The duo were traveling to school on the Nadi General Bus, which crashed into a tree at the Natabua Road junction in Lautoka.

Wainikiti is a Year 12 student at Jasper High School, and Leone, a Year three student at Saint Thomas Primary School.

“I received a call from one of the doctors at the Emergency Department, informing me that my daughter had been in an accident and was admitted. My second question was whether a small boy was also admitted, and they confirmed it,” she added.

Wainikiti Tells

She said Wainikiti recounted the incident saying: “We were sitting in the front, on the left side of the driver, and I noticed that the driver was speeding. As we approached Natabua, the bus recklessly passed all the traffic. We held hands because we sensed something bad was about to happen. Suddenly, the driver lost control and attempted to swerve away from a truck, but it ended up crashing into a tree.” 

Wainikiti acted quickly, throwing her cousin to the seat behind her to protect him.

“She was thrown towards the steps and was trapped. The bus door folded inwards and squashed her, she lost consciousness,” Ms Vasunaqali said.

“When she woke up, she tried to come out because she thought of Leone. She found him lying motionless inside the bus. Despite her own injuries, she carried him. It took 10 minutes to wake him up, and then she managed to get him out of the bus through a window before she jumped out herself.”

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Story by: salote.qalubau@fijisun.com.fj