BUTTERWORTH: Siti Fatimah Mohd Rodhi was understandably puzzled when she received a phone call, asking if her family members had been in a white Perodua Alza headed to Sungai Petani, Kedah.
After all, it was only three hours earlier that the 27-year-old had been on a video call with her mother, who together with other family members were on their way back to Kedah after completing school registration for her elder sister.
Siti Fatimah's call, however, turned to horror when the caller on the other end of the line told her that her family had all perished in an accident.
The crash, which occurred at 3.40pm at KM62 of the East-West Expressway near Banjaran Titiwangsa yesterday, claimed the lives of her parents, Mohd Rodhi Othman, 64, and 59-year-old Sharifah Rohana Syed Sagaf.
Also dead were Siti Fatimah's elder sister Siti Aishah Mohd Rodhi, her sister's husband Ahmad Khomaini Abu, both 32, and their six-year-old daughter, Zara Hana.
She said her family had been in Kelantan since Friday to send off another sister, Siti Khadijah, who is pursuing religious studies there.
She said just three hours before the crash, she had made a video call to her mother at about noon.
"Upon completing the school registration, all five of them wanted to return to our Sungai Petani home. They were in the car when I made the video call to my mother, who said they had sent my sister off to school.
"However, at about 4pm, I received a call from an unknown person who told me that my family had been involved in an accident and they did not survive.
"I was shocked because I had just spoken to my mother and the others. Suddenly, they were gone forever," she told Berita Harian today.
Siti Fatimah and her husband then rushed from Kuala Lumpur to Sungai Dua, while her eldest brother was already at the Gerik Hospital to manage the remains.
She said she last met her parents during the recent Hari Raya Aidiladha festivities.
"What happened is fate. We accept this test," she said.
The five died after their Perodua Alza collided with a Toyota Hilux pickup truck, which was travelling from Gerik to Jeli.
The driver of the Hilux was believed to have lost control of the vehicle before it swerved to the opposite lane and rammed into the Alza.
Their remains will be buried at the Masjid Jamek Haji Abdul Rashid cemetery in Sungai Dua after Zohor prayers.
