Filipina Hit and Run Victim Still Alive

KUWAIT: A picture taken from social media allegedly showing a crowd surrounding the victim moments after the accident.

KUWAIT:  A Filipino woman who was struck in a hit and run accident in Kuwait City yesterday remains in a coma. The woman, widely reported to have died on social media, has undergone a series of operations and remains in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Amiri Hospital.

According Philippine Embassy’s Assistant to Nationals Unit, the woman is being monitored by her physician Dr Ahmed Sammy. “We visited her at Amiri Hsopital today. She is in the ICU and is still unconscious. We will continue to monitor her condition and we hope and pray for her recovery,” the embassy official said.

Emelyn Acabo , 38, from Bacolod Negros Occidental, Philippines, was on the sidewalk when the accident happened and heard the crash. She rushed through the crowd and took several photos and videos which she eventually posted in social media. “Yes, I saw her lying on the ground so I took some videos and posted it on my Facebook account,” she admitted.

“I was scared but at the same time thinking about her family. It was a sad day to see such an accident. It was only the second day of the year and if you are a Filipino I am sure you know we are still in the celebratory mood for the New Year, and it was frustrating to witness the gravity of such an accident. I heard the crash’s sound although I did not personally see the vehicle hit her,” she said.  “The ambulance came late. I don’t know the exact time but I was praying hard for the ambulance to come soon so she would survive,” Acabo recalled.

The accident was widely discussed among the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) community in Kuwait. Azhna Pananggulon, 38, from General Santos City, hoped that the victim would be okay.  “Thank God that she is alive; although some social media post [said] she had already died,” she said. “The problem here in the Middle East is that we cannot touch [the victim] any accident of such nature. We are not allowed; if you do, you will be in trouble, so the more you care (for others)  the more you will be in trouble. All you can do is wait for an ambulance, but what if the ambulance arrived after two hours, the victim could die,” she said.

By Ben Garcia

(Source: KuwaitTimes.net)