It was a quick task
Vinod Kuruvila, a relative who spoke to Gulf News, said Sijo, who worked as a foreman at a shipyard in Dubai, had gone out at around 1.45pm to buy groceries from a nearby supermarket while helping his wife in the kitchen.
“He was supposed to come back soon. But when he didn’t come back, his wife kept calling him. It was only in the evening that a nurse at Rashid Hospital picked up his phone and said he was admitted after the accident,” he said.
Vinod rushed to the hospital to find that Sijo had sustained serious injuries on her head, chest and legs. “The other fractures could have been treated, but his head injury was severe,” he said. Sijo succumbed to his injuries before 6:45 p.m.
“He ordered me to wear a helmet”
The detail that weighs the most on Vinod is that Sijo was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. He had been using the e-scooter for about a year.
“I wish he had worn his helmet. I’m not sure why he didn’t; maybe because it was just a short ride to a nearby supermarket. I had used his scooter when I visited him and he always reminded me to wear his helmet. So, I’m very sad that he didn’t put it on that day. I wish he had. Maybe he would have been saved,” V said.
He said the family was told that Sijo was crossing the road in Muhaisnah when he was hit. His family said it remains unclear why he was moved to the other side of the street, when the store he was supposed to go to was on the same side of the street as his apartment.
Sorrow upon sorrow
The tragedy was made all the more painful by the fact that Sijo’s family was still coming to terms with the loss of his sister just two years earlier in a similar road accident.
Sister Sonia Johny, a nun and school teacher, was killed in February 2024 in Thrissur, Kerala, after being hit by a speeding motorcycle while crossing the road. She was 35.
“His family was slowly recovering from the loss of Sijo’s sister. And now this. They have not come to terms with the reality. Of the three siblings, now only the youngest sister is left,” Vinod said.
The family is awaiting repatriation
Sijo’s parents had been financially dependent on him. “He had also taken a loan to support his family,” said Vinod.
Sijo’s wife, who is the sister of Vinod’s wife, is “totally devastated”, he said. The family is already waiting for the completion of the repatriation procedures, which Sijo’s company has handed over to another firm.
“It has been a week. We are still waiting for his body to be repatriated and his family is still here waiting to fly home with his remains,” Vinod said.
Gulf News could not immediately reach Sijo’s company for an update on the repatriation of his remains.
