FATHER'S GRIEF: Evigan's father grieves over the body of his son at the accident scene.
KUCHING: It was a Merdeka Day tragedy for shoe shop assistant Bazzo Indon when his elder brother was killed instantly after being struck head-on by a car.
The 20-year-old Bazzo and his 21-year-old brother Evigan were riding separate motorcycles back to their house at Kampung Prutan in Siburan together with two other co-workers when the incident occurred around 1.30am along Mile 11 1/2 Penrissen Road.
Evigan was the lead motorcyclist in the three-vehicle convoy, with the two co-workers riding behind him followed by Bazzo, when a Proton Wira car from the opposite direction suddenly swerved into their lane and slammed into Evigan.
The two co-workers, 19-year-old Berry Renin and 15-year-old Michael Lister, only narrowly avoided being mowed down after the former was able to swerve his machine to the shoulder of the road.
The Wira, meanwhile, skidded for several metres before crashing against the perimeter fencing of a house.
Bazzo, who witnessed the horrific incident unfold in front of him, rushed to his fallen elder sibling but found him lifeless on the road with severe head injuries.
He said he immediately turned back to look at the Wira and saw three men fleeing the scene on foot.
Berry, meanwhile, told reporters that Evigan was a full-time employee at a shoe shop in Satok while the rest of them were working there on a part-time basis.
He said they left work earlier at 7pm together with their employer, who brought them to a shopping mall and treated all of them to dinner and a movie in conjunction with Merdeka Day.
The siblings’ father, who declined to be named, rushed to the scene after being notified of the fatal incident but could do nothing except stare in shock at the body of his eldest child.
Evigan, according to him, was an adept karate exponent and had even represented the country in a competition in Italy back in 2008.
The father, who is currently undergoing treatment for throat cancer, also said he had always reminded his children to be careful while on the road, and rued that his son’s death was a result of someone else’s wrong doing.
Traffic police were on hand to investigate the accident and later transported the body to the Sarawak General Hospital for a post mortem.
It was learned that the driver of the Wira, in his 20s, lodged a police report immediately following the incident, while his two friends sought medical treatment for minor injuries.
A source indicated the trio were on their way back to Kota Padawan after earlier attending a wedding reception dinner in Serian for the car driver’s elder brother.