A hero in the right place at the right time
Contractor humble about saving woman in car collision
BALING: Contractor Oon Thoo Seen, hailed an unsung hero by netizens for helping a seriously injured woman driver from her wrecked car, sees it as a responsibility to help others.
He was passing by the site of a head-on collision involving 37-year-old Sri Nursuzawilati Mat Noh’s Proton Saga with a Perodua Alza at KM14 of Jalan Pengkalan Hulu-Gerik on Thursday when his heroic act saved her life.
Recalling the incident, Oon said his first thought was to save the victim but after he smashed the window of Nursuzawilati’s wrecked car with an axe, he found the dented door jammed.
Without hesitating, the 66-yearold Oon summoned all his might to slam the axe into the door levers.
The force broke the locking mechanism, after which Oon used his legs to pry the door open.
He released Nursuzawilati’s seatbelt and quickly pulled her out of the wreckage within seconds.
By the time the fire engine and ambulance arrived, the two cars had already gone up in flames.
Oon believes he just happened to be at the right place and time and was just doing what he would expect others to do when faced with a similar situation.
“We must not have unnecessary fears and concerns when helping others.
“I was just helping someone in need, and we must help whenever we can,” Oon said humbly when met in Pengkalan Hulu yesterday.
He said on that day, he and a friend had just attended a feast in Grik and were on their way back to Pengkalan Hulu to work.
“We stopped by to visit several projects in Grik before leaving the town.
“When we passed by the scene where the Alza was on fire, we went down and several metres away was Nursuzawilati lying unconscious in the Saga and still pinned to her seat.
“A passer-by threw rocks at the glass window but it didn’t work.
“Remembering that I had an axe in my car, I ran back to my car to grab it, which helped in saving the victim.”
Oon said Nursuzawilati’s husband Rosefakhzan Saleh Mohammad, 38, who was in the passenger seat, was also unconscious and had been helped out by passers-by. The couple’s sons Mohd Aqil Hazim Rosefakhzan, nine, and Nur Naurah Qaisara Rosefakhzan, five, who were seated at the back, suffered minor injuries.
The occupants of the Alza, a soldier, his wife and child from Gerik, also escaped with minor injuries.
Oon, from Taman Impian, Bukit Mertajam, won accolades from netizens for his courageous act.
Pictures of Oon in action and the story of his bravery have gone viral on social media.
Asked about the 4kg axe which he keeps under the car seat, Oon said it was for his work as a building contractor.
“Most of the tools are left at the project sites, but we keep our precious tools with us, and among them is the axe,” he said.