When we hear ambulance sirens, everyone knows its vital to make way for them as soon as possible. Unfortunately, this lady in Sarawak claims a car’s delay in moving aside for the ambulance carrying her husband, resulted in his passing.
On 5th January, an ambulance carrying a patient, Morgan Alban, had been passing through KM6 of Jalan Sri Aman-Kuching when an SUV blocked their route. His wife, Annie Andrew later confirmed her husband’s passing, and declared that she would never forget the number plate of the car which allegedly cost her her husband.
A few days ago, a video showing the incident went viral on the internet, garnering netizens’ ire. The recording was apparently taken by the ambulance driver and showed a Perodua Kembara stubbornly remaining in its lane despite the sirens wailing loudly behind him. It supposedly took a while for the driver to realise the ambulance behind them before they finally moved aside.
Sri Aman police were quick to identify the driver responsible and charged him with not giving way to an emergency vehicle, as per Rule 9 of the Road Traffic Rules 1959. But, as it turns out, the driver’s family had felt guilty over the incident and reached out to Morgan’s wife to apologise.
They explained that the driver, their 65-year-old father, was suffering from chronic hearing problems. “My father did not intentionally block the ambulance,” they stated, adding that their dad had too been compounded by the police for the incident.
Annie publicly stated that she had accepted their apology, however, she urged the family to ensure that either their father did not drive anymore or to drive with hearing aids, in light of his hearing problem. “This condition is dangerous, and not only for the recent situation. A lot of other things can happen. Don’t let the same thing happen twice and to someone else,” she said.
She also addressed a comment which argued that the car had only blocked the ambulance for 0.56 seconds. The comment had claimed the time in which the ambulance was blocked was negligible as it would not have reached the hospital/clinic in time as “the ambulance was still far from any medical facility at the time of the incident” and that the husband “would still have died“.
To this, Annie responded: “I have just lost my husband. For me, every second is precious, even if it is only a single second. I have two small kids, aged two and one, and every second counts as I had hoped my kids would still be able to enjoy their father’s love. They have not enjoyed enough of his love and are too young to remember their time together. Please be mindful of what you say.”
Our hearts go out her and her children. Loss is never easy, especially when it seems it could have been avoided. We sincerely hope they will be able to find peace in the late patient’s passing. We also hope the family of the driver will take steps to ensure such an incident does not happen again.
Watch the clip here:
Sources: Facebook (1)(2)(3), China Press, Malay Mail
