Adi Veniana Nasova is still numb with shock after the sudden loss of her only son who died when the truck he was driving plunged into a river in the early hours of Wednesday.
In an interview at her home in Toge Village yesterday, the 61-year-old said her son, Mikaele Tora, 38, had promised his young daughters he would be at home around 9pm that day.
“My husband (Mika’s father) received a call around mid-night informing us the truck had fallen into the Nacaci River near Toge in Ba,” she said.
“We did not know whether he was dead or alive until a police officer from Nanukuloa, Ba called and told us he had died.
“I did not want to believe that it was really him because left home and told us he was going to town.
“Around 4pm on Tuesday he called to tell me that he would be coming to take the goats.”
Adi Veniana said her son was transporting passengers to Saunokonoko in Ba.
“The last time he spoke to his wife was on Tuesday afternoon, when he told her he would be taking passengers to Saunokonoko.”
Adi Veniana described her son as an obedient and hardworking man who would be dearly missed by the young men of Toge.
“Those who knew him would never see him with a frown on his face as he would always be smiling while greeting them.”
She said a group of fishermen who were near the spot where the truck ran into the river retrieved his body and took him to the Aspen Medical Ba Hospital. Tora will be buried next Wednesday and is survived by his wife and two daughters.
Police investigations into the accident are continuing.
