That Fatal Accident

I cringed when I saw the photos of the scene.

Bodies everywhere, blood everywhere.

Husbands, Wives, Mothers, Husbands, Children are lost. Every person out there is someone's family member, someone's loved one.

That just breaks my heart.

I remember the accident that my family went through back in 1992 which incapacitated my sister. She suffered extensive brain damage and has been 'special' ever since. It took me along time to accept that she was no longer a normal person, and it took me even longer to accept that the company who so irresponsibly crashed into us paid us money, and it was reflected in the court's record that 'payment of settlement given with no admission as to liability'. What does that mean? You destroy a life of an 8 year old, pay us a million pounds and then say you are not responsible?. I decided from then on that I wanted to be a legal practitioner so I could ensure that I would be able to take care of her legal affairs and protect her.

I know for some victims, the injuries were to the head. The inference of brain injury just comes to my mind. What about compensation to them?. As unfortunate as my sister was, she was lucky to have the accident in UK where the Court does consider payment of future earnings to the victim. Our country does not provide for this. What are the victims left with? A lump sum payment for injuries of RM30k for a foot lost? an arm lost? I struggle to understand the justice.  I still do.

I know for a fact, that the family will have a tough time adjusting to caring for a handicap. The handicap will have an even tougher time accepting that they are no longer the normal person they were. For my sister, her permanent brain damage has left her thinking that she is 6 years old (her age was 7 at the time of the accident) which she still does to this day.

My family after almost 19 years to the day the accident occurs still struggle with ourselves everytime we talk about the details of what happened. My tears still flow freely as I remember how vibrant and beautiful my sister was. 19 years down the line, I can still remember the accident vividly as if it only happened yesterday. It is an inner struggle which have left me permanently scarred. Ask me what she wore on the day and I will be able to tell you that she was wearing a green jumper with pictures of white sheep on it, she had on leggings and a red skirt. And she was reading a pop up book just before the lorry crashed into us.

Yes, I remember all that.

My older sister remembers nothing about our stay in England at all. She says she has no memory of it whatsoever. I think she does not want to remember, or that her poor mind cannot deal with the horror of it and so she completely blocks it out.

Everybody deals with tragedy in their own way.

I feel for the families of those who have died in the senseless tragedy. But for the ones who are alive but suffering with injuries, the head especially, a  tough journey to recover lies ahead. I wish them luck but know that it will take more than luck to persevere.

For me, my sister will be forever 6, never to age. I will love her and continue to protect her till the day I die.

P.S - I should be screaming and shouting to the authorities to do something to control the speed at which these buses should be driving, but I know it would be a waste of time so I am not going to bother.