Ambulance obstruction: Woman blames motorists for her sons' deaths

A grieving woman has blamed the demise of two of her sons in an accident due to the late arrival of the ambulance at the scene as the emergency lane was packed with cars.

"I miss my children very much. Ramadan this year will be very different without them," said Patimah Md Kayos, 50, the mother of the duo who died in an accident at KM228 North-South Expressway (northbound) here on May 22.

The single mother of 14, cannot imagine her second born, Mohamad Ma'arof Shadik Mohamed, 38, and her 11th, Alam Iqbal, 19, being fatal victims of an accident due to the selfish attitude of motorists using the emergency lane.

"I remember they usually break their fast in Malacca on the first and second day, their favourite dish is prawn sambal.

"There was no significant change in them before the incident but before they got back on their motorcycle, they took a threesome selfie with another sibling," she told reporters at her residence here yesterday.

In the incident about 3.30pm, a total of 79 vehicles had been identified by the Road Transport Department (RTD) as using the emergency lane, resulting in the late arrival of the ambulance at the crash site near the Simpang Ampat exit here.

Patimah said during the incident, both the deceased with her ninth child, Muhammad Najib, 24, left their home in 11.2km Kampung Solok Gaung Ayer Molek here, on two motorcycles to return to Kuala Lumpur.

However, she said her conversation with Alam Iqbal before he left for Kuala Lumpur on the same motorcycle with Mohamad Ma'arof caused a strange stir in her heart.

Recalling the accident, she said she rushed to the Seremban Hospital immediately but when she arrived at the hospital around 7.30pm, she was informed her two sons were in critical condition.

Patimah said she was asked to sign a consent letter for surgery to be carried out on Alam Iqbal but 30 minutes later, his doctor told her that his condition was very critical, whereas Mohamad Ma'arof's heart was not responding to treatment and that both could not be saved.

She said she and her family hoped the authorities, especially the RTD, would take stern action against those who used these routes.