Easter joy turns to sorrow as bus crushes woman in Lautoka

Plans for a big family get together after the Easter weekend came to an abrupt end yesterday for a family in Lautoka following the tragic death of their 62-yearold mother.

Six brothers, two daughters and seven grandchildren are now mourning the sudden loss of Saira Bibi who was killed yesterday while trying to cross the road at Yasawa Street, Lautoka, near Shop N Save Supermarket at around 10am.

Her granddaughter, Farnaz Hussein, told

Fiji Sun that her grandmother liked to be an independent which included going to town and shopping.

“All we know is that she was trying to cross the road when the accident happened,” Ms Hussein said.

“We do not know the exact time when my grandmother left for shopping but it was after when I left for school and my parents had gone to work.”

Ms Bibi finally died from her injuries at around 2pm at the Lautoka Hospital. Witnesses at the scene said she was crushed under a bus and dragged a few metres. The impact resulted in parts of her inner organs being splattered on the road. Witnesses at the scene also said the bus had climbed over loose bricks at a bend before hitting Mrs Bibi who was using the pedestrian crossing to make her way towards the market. The accident scene left one haunting memory – a pair of Ms Bibi’s flip flops still lying near the pedestrian crossing.

Ms Hussein said the family received the news about her grandmother’s death at around 10.45 am.

Ms Bibi lived with her three sons - Mohammad Muntaz Ali, Mohammad Intaz Ali and Mohammad Hassan Ali - in Vitogo. Mr Hassan Ali, 40, said: “My mother had plans to get my younger brother, Mohammad Nafiz Ali, married by the end of this year. “We brothers also planned to have a family gathering after the long Easter Holiday weekend.

“Our father died in 1999 and since then our mother played role of both mother and father to support and look after us brothers and sisters.”

The family has yet to decide funeral arrangements. Police spokesperson Ana Naisoro said: A 41-year-old bus driver of Tuvu Lautoka was taken in Police custody for questioning.” Police are investigating the accident.

Photo: Charles Chambers The accident scene in Lautoka. Mrs Bibi’s single flip flop lies near the pedestrian crossing next to the bus that crushed her on April 10, 2017.

Photo: Charles Chambers Mrs Bibi’s sons, from left, Mohammed Mumtaz Ali, Mohammed Feroz Ali, Mohammed Nafiz Ali, Mohammed Hussein Ali, Mohammed Intiaz Ali and Mohammed Hassan Ali at their family home in Vitogo, Lautoka, on April 10, 2017.

Saira Bibi who was killed after a bus accident in Lautoka on April 10, 2017.