GERIK: “I could only watch my friends writhing in pain, screaming for help... some were trapped, others had gone silent... but I was helpless,” recalled Aleeya Maisarah Azizzani, 21, a survivor of the tragic bus crash involving Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students early today.
Aleeya said she had been asleep when the crash occurred, but was jolted awake by a loud impact, followed by cries and groans from her fellow passengers.
Amid the chaos and darkness, she tried to help but was stopped by severe back pain.
“My back hurt so badly... I tried to get up, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t help anyone. I could only save myself. I felt so guilty, but I was truly powerless,” she said, her voice trembling as she spoke to reporters outside the Gerik district police headquarters here.
Aleeya, who had been seated on the right side of the bus, managed to crawl out through a broken window. However, outside the wreckage, she was met with a heartbreaking sight.
“I saw bodies everywhere. One person was lying in a ditch. At first, I thought they had fainted, but someone said they were already gone... I saw it with my own eyes... Allahu so many were gone,” she said, closing her eyes as if to block out the memory.
She also recalled that she and several friends had sensed something was wrong before the crash, having detected a burning rubber smell and noticing the bus was being driven at high speed.
“I smelled burning tyres in Jerteh. Some friends said they noticed it earlier in Tanah Merah. We didn’t say anything... I just went to sleep,” she said.
Aleeya added that while passing through Jeli, she was briefly awakened by a strong jolt, possibly from the bus hitting a pothole, which nearly caused it to veer off the road.
“It felt like the bus was going to tip over. The driver slowed down briefly but then sped up again,” said Aleeya, who sustained injuries to her head and legs.
The crash, which occurred between 12.30 am and 1.00 am, claimed the lives of 15 UPSI students. The chartered bus, travelling from Jerteh, Terengganu, to Tanjung Malim, Perak, overturned after colliding with a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) on the East-West Highway near Tasik Banding.
