You are my daughter. These were the last words uttered by Nabila Village headman Pauliasi Namualevu to his adopted daughter Salanieta Nai.
The late Ms Nai, a mother-of-four, was returning from a shopping trip to Nadi when she was hit by a vehicle on Saturday night, sustaining serious head injuries that resulted in her death.
Mr Namualevu said one of the last conversations they had she had made it clear that he was her father.
“She told me that she was the only left in her family and that I was there when her parents passed away,” said the emotional turaganikoro.
“I don’t have anyone else. You are my father.”
He said he was very proud to have raised Salanieta who was a special mother to her children.
“We have a lot of children in our house and that was because of her. She always looked after them and they always wanted to be around her.”
According to police, Ms Nai was hit by a vehicle driven by a 41-year-old man.
“The incident occurred after 6pm last night (Saturday) along the Queens highway near Uciwai in Nadi,” a police report stated.
“The victim was allegedly crossing the road when she was bumped by the suspect’s vehicle.
“She was rushed to the Nadi Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.”
The national road death toll stands at 38 compared with 12 for the same period last year.
