S’porean family involved in Aussie crash to remain in Melbourne

SINGAPORE: The Singaporean family involved in a car crash near Melbourne in June is expected to extend their stay in Melbourne indefinitely. That is because one of the three surviving children is still in hospital.

The family of six were travelling to Melbourne from Sydney on June 18 when their van smashed into a tree on the Hume Freeway.

The crash killed nine—year—old Jibrail Amirullah Fauzy, the youngest child of Fawzi Aman and Zuleeza Suri. The boy was buried in Melbourne two days later.

The rest of the family were taken to hospital. All, but one, have since been discharged.

In a statement to Channel NewsAsia, the Royal Children’s Hospital said the child is in a stable condition.

Investigators told Channel NewsAsia that they have not had the chance to speak with Mr Fauzi, who was the driver of the vehicle.

Detective Acting Sergeant Daryll Out, who is with the Major Collision Investigation Unit of the Victoria Police, said: "He’s been released from hospital. One of the children involved in the crash is still in hospital. The father’s spending a considerable (amount of) time visiting the child.

"We expect to continue our investigations in relation to whether fatigue played a part in the crash, and expect to interview the driver sometime next week in regards to that.

"If the fatigue aspect played a role in the crash, then the driver, after being interviewed, may be charged in relation to some criminal charges, resulting from the crash.

"My indication from the family is that they’ll wait and stay in Australia until they can work out the health condition of their child."

—CNA/ac