‘I Forgive You’
Iforgive you. Those were the heartfelt words of mourning father, Sunia Vakacegu Koroisigasiga to a 41-year-old hotel manager.
The hotel manager was allegedly driving the car that ran over his daughter, Selina Koroisigasiga, last week.
The 19-year-old was rushed to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva, where she was admitted at the Intensive Care Unit. Despite the efforts of the medical staff, young Selina died on Saturday morning as a result of her injuries.
Police said the alleged incident took place on Sunday, May 21, as Selina was trying to cross Kings Rd, in Kinoya.
Mr Koroisigasiga expressed immense difficulty of losing a daughter who had such a promising future ahead of her.
In a display of remarkable forgiveness and compassion, he chose to forgive the man who was allegedly behind the wheel of the car that took his daughter’s life.
“As a father, I do not wish for him to suffer. He too has children, and I hope that when he faces the court, he may receive a lenient sentence,” Mr Koroisigasiga said.
“No parent should ever have to endure what we are going through.” Selina, a second-year environment student at the university of the South Pacific, was described by her mother, Karalaini Nakabea Koroisigasiga, as a vibrant soul who always brimmed with life.
“Selina had the ability to make anyone feel at home. Wherever there was laughter, you could find my daughter. She was kind, perpetually positive and always prioritised others over herself,” Ms Koroisigasiga said.
In her last conversation with her family last week during an evangelism trip to Ogea, Selina called to check on her mother. Little did they know it would be their final conversation.
The news of Selina’s accident, delivered by her elder sister, shattered her family.
Selina’s untimely death has left a void that can never be filled.
She would have turned 20 on June 17 and was the second eldest among her five siblings.
Hailing from Ogea in Lau, and with maternal links to Naserelagi, Ra, Selina was a young woman with “boundless potential”, and her family mourns the loss of the bright future that was stolen from her.
Investigations are ongoing, and the suspect will be questioned again in light of the victim’s death.