A Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) student has expressed immense gratitude after narrowly escaping a deadly bus crash that claimed 15 lives early Monday morning along Jalan Jeli-Gerik in Perak.
According to mStar, Nur Adilah Mohd Rusdi, 21, was originally scheduled to board the same bus with 42 other students from Jerteh, Terengganu, heading back to their campus in Tanjung Malim after the Hari Raya Aidiladha break.
However, fate had other plans.
Waiting for father to finish Isyak prayers
“The bus was scheduled to leave at 9PM, but I arrived late because I was waiting for my father to finish his Isyak prayers at the mosque. I wanted to salam him before I left,” said the second-semester Bachelor of Education (Art) student.
Adilah, who hails from Kampung Gong Bayor in Besut, said her mother later drove her to the meeting point in front of Masjid Hadhari, Jerteh — but by then, the bus had already departed.
I reached the location around 9.25PM. Another passenger told me the bus had just left five minutes earlier,” she added.
“When I called the bus management, they said the bus waited for 20 minutes before deciding to depart.”
Feeling uneasy, Adilah made the decision not to chase after the bus. Instead, she returned home and later hitched a ride to campus around midnight with her uncle, who was heading back to Klang, Selangor.
“I Was Shocked When I Heard What Happened”
Adilah found out about the tragic accident at around 4AM.
I was completely shocked. I never thought something like this could happen. I’m heartbroken that one of my friends was involved, even though we weren’t that close,” she said, adding that she hasn’t been able to reach her injured classmate since.
She was supposed to attend her first class of the semester on Monday morning but had to inform her lecturer that she missed the bus and was stuck in traffic.
I told my lecturer I couldn’t make it. They were shocked too when I said I wasn’t on the bus.”
The Crash That Took 15 Lives
On June 3, 2024, a tragic accident involving a chartered bus and a Perodua Alza resulted in 15 deaths.
The bus was carrying 42 UPSI students aged between 21 and 23, all returning from the East Coast after the Aidiladha celebration.
