So Sad.

from Cathy Babao and Chuvaness

Subject: Fwd: Details of Accident in Ateneo de Manila Grade School

I couldn't sleep last night thinking about the two families. Grabe, it's a tragedy for both. I couldn't help but think that the son(s) of the mom who hit Amiel has to pull out of Ateneo, too. I couldn't imagine going everyday to the place where my mom had taken another boy's life- even if it was accidental.

My good friend (whose son is the classmate of Amiel) was right there and witnessed the horrible, horrible accident. The mom who hit Amiel was in an old Hiace van, waiting for her son to come out. She had a driver, and when the driver saw her son, he went down from the van and left it idling. The cars in front of the van moved already, a big gap was left in front of the van, so the cars behind the van began blowing their horns to make the van move. THe mom went down to move the van. That's when she accidentally stepped on the gas, instead of the brakes, rear-ending the car in front of her, which in turn, hit the car in front of it. The impact was strong, but that wasn't when Amiel was hit.

The mom, in her panic, then reversed very quickly. She didn't see Amiel and his yaya crossing behind her van, looking for their own car. That's when she hit the boy and the yaya. She didn't even realize that she had hit two people, she kept going in reverse, even if the other drivers and bystanders were screaming for her to stop.

They had to extricate poor Amiel from under the van. My friend's driver was one of the people who helped carry him. When my friend saw him, she knew at once that he was gone. She saw his things scattered on the ground, even the hotdog he was eating right before the accident.

The first texts I got about the accident grossly misrepresented what had happened. They made it appear that the car was speeding, etc. Grabe, let us really, really pray for the mom who hit Amiel and her family. I can't imagine what she is going through. I can't imagine what Amiel's parents are going through as well. I so hope that the last time they saw him, they were able to kiss and hug and tell him how much they love him.

May the good Lord always protect and watch over our children. And let us take every opportunity to let them know how much they mean to us.

I too have a son and I just cannot imagine losing him this way. The news feed on television last night gave a wrong version of the Amiel story and my initial reaction was anger. Anger towards the irresponsible mother who ran over the little boy. After I got to read this entry from Chuvaness' site I felt empathy for the mom who was driving. I'm pretty sure she's remorseful and very very sad.

My prayers are with both families now.

Rashid hates it when I bring him to and from school since his school gate is just a few meters away from our home. But still, I do it everyday and whenever I can. Better safe than sorry right.