The tragedy of a flight attendant hit by a Mercedes car

In an apartment of less than 70 square meters, cluttered with objects in an apartment building near Tan Son Nhat Airport in Tan Binh District, Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Huong walks with difficulty. Her wobbly figure and the sound of wooden crutches hitting the floor make it hard to recognize the woman who nearly a year ago was highly regarded for her appearance in the Vietnam Airlines Flight Attendant Corps.

Looking down at her left leg, which had shriveled up after four surgeries after a traffic accident, Ms. Huong's face was tense and filled with resignation. "That morning was the 6th day of Tet (January 30), I called a GrabBike to go to work to catch the first flight of the year. I never expected that to be the fateful day of my life," she said.

At nearly 5:30, Ms. Huong sat in the back of the car.GrabBike driverLe Manh Thuong, 54, runs on Hong Ha Street, heading to the airport. This is her fourth year as a flight attendant - her dream job since childhood, an income that is enough to support the life of a single mother and her 8-month-old son.

The scene of the accident on the morning of January 30 that killed the GrabBike driver and left Ms. Huong with a 79% disability. Photo:Character provided.

According to the indictment, in the opposite direction, Tran Hoang Phong, 33 years old,Mercedes drivercarrying a group of friends at 84 km/h. When reaching house number 123 Hong Ha, Phu Nhuan district, the driver turned the car to the left and crashed head-on into Mr. Thuong's car carrying a female flight attendant. The motorbike and the 2 victims were thrown several meters onto the sidewalk.

Phong called the 115 Emergency Center to report the accident and then fled the scene. Due to the severity of his injuries, Mr. Thuong died shortly thereafter. Ms. Huong suffered a broken acetabulum, broken femur, sacrum, closed fracture of the femur head, and bilateral pubic fractures...

After a 5-hour surgery, doctors thought they could not save the victim. Ms. Huong woke up with her whole body covered in white and tangled with wires. "I was so desperate," Ms. Huong shared.

For nearly a year, she had to undergo 3 more surgeries to realign her bones, weld her pelvic plate, transfer her tendons, etc. The cost for each surgery is about 100 million VND and it is still ongoing. Authorities determined that she has a 79% disability. The person who caused the accident has not yet compensated her or the GarbBike driver.

Ms. Huong before the accident. Photo:Character provided.

Since the accident, the life of mother and child has changed completely. She cannot walk normally, and all depends on the help of her biological mother.

"The motivation for me to overcome the desperate days is my son's smile and my love. He can't speak yet, but I know he feels the positive effects of my health. Every time I learn to walk, he smiles," Ms. Huong said, her voice filled with emotion.

The agency has appealed for financial support and said it will arrange ground work for her when she recovers. "But that's probably hard for someone with a serious disability like me," she said, adding that her main source of income now comes from online sales.

She had not been able to sleep for several nights and had to take painkillers because her leg had just had its cast removed and her big toe was so cramped that she could not move it. Occasionally, she would rub the stitches that had not yet healed, as if to soothe her physical loss.

Phong was brought to the field experiment.

Tran Hoang Phong was prosecuted by the People's Procuracy of Phu Nhuan District for the crime ofViolation of road traffic regulationsAccording to Clause 2, Article 260 of the 2015 Penal Code, the penalty is 3-10 years in prison.

Investigators determined that after fleeing the scene, Phong turned himself in on February 1 and was detained. Test results showed that he tested positive for drugs. Before causing the accident, Phong and a group of friends went to a bar in Binh Thuan province.

Phong did not have a driver's license, so he used fake documents to rent a Mercedes for 2.5 million VND per day. When he caused the accident, he was driving at 84 km/h - exceeding the speed limit of 34 km/h. Phong threw away the fake documents on the way to escape.

The case has not been scheduled for trial by Phu Nhuan District People's Court.

Duong Trang