S'porean in fatal bus crash was celebrating wedding anniversary

She was preparing milk for son just before collision in Malaysia

Ms Serina Mat Idris and her husband Ahmad Sumidja were on their way to Genting to celebrate their third wedding anniversary when the tour bus they were in reportedly hit a stationary lorry.
Ms Serina Mat Idris and her husband Ahmad Sumidja were on their way to Genting to celebrate their third wedding anniversary when the tour bus they were in reportedly hit a stationary lorry. PHOTO: COURTESY OF YUSRY MAT IDRIS

She was on her way to Genting to celebrate her three-year wedding anniversary with her husband, baby, and other family members.

But Ms Serina Mat Idris never made it to her destination.

The 27-year-old Singaporean childcare teacher died after she was flung out of a double-decker tour bus in a road accident in the Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan last Friday morning.

Her brother, Mr Yusry Mat Idris, told The Sunday Times yesterday that Ms Serina and 13 other family members had been seated at the top deck of the Transtar Travel tour bus when the accident happened on the North-South Expressway near Seremban.

Ms Serina and her nearly two-year-old son were in the front row. Her husband, Mr Ahmad Sumidja, was in the second row, and Mr Yusry was in the third.

Mr Yusry, 41, said his sister, the youngest of four siblings, was wearing a seat belt, but shortly before the accident, her son wanted milk, so she unbuckled her seat belt and carried him over to her father, who was seated in the fifth row.

While Ms Serina was standing and preparing milk for her son, Mr Yusry noticed a stationary lorry in the distance and in the same lane that the bus was travelling on.

Other cars ahead of them began signalling and changing lanes to avoid the lorry but Mr Yusry said their bus continued travelling straight towards the lorry.

It was then that he realised something was wrong and yelled at Ms Serina to warn her but she was distracted as she was preparing the milk for her son.

Mr Yusry said that as his sister turned to look at him after his warning, the bus crashed into the lorry.

Mr Ahmad was also flung out of the bus, breaking his foot. Despite the injury, he rushed to Ms Serina's side to try and help her. Her father also rushed over, but it was too late.

"When he looked at me and shook his head, I knew the worst (had happened)," said Mr Yusry, an administrative officer.

Fortunately, his nephew was not injured in the accident. Mr Yusry's warning earlier gave his father enough time to shield Ms Serina's son and protect him from harm.

Ms Serina's body was brought back to Singapore yesterday and buried.

Mr Yusry said:"We're trying to cope with it, but it's quite hard... It's very sudden." The situation is especially difficult for the family because of Ms Serina's son, who is too young to understand what happened.

"Every time I look at him, I break down," said Mr Yusry. He said that Ms Serina used to love taking her son to the arcade to play claw machine games together.

"(Her son) would always jump with joy when he looked at her... He would always look for her. He was very close to her."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on December 09, 2018, with the headline S'porean in fatal bus crash was celebrating wedding anniversary. Subscribe