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| Harold is not only awake, but is also able to take in food |
The Filipino domestic worker who was left in a coma Sunday night after being struck by a KMB bus on Des Voeux Road in Central has regained consciousness but is now worried about the financial cost of his accident, according to his friends.
Photos shared by friends
Friday show 44-year-old Harold Padre being fed by his wife Liezl after he was
moved to a regular ward at Queen Mary Hospital in Pokfulam.
His head remains
swathed in bandages following a critical surgery to drain and remove blood
clots in his brain, and doctors are reportedly not ruling out a further operation
on his stomach where blood clots were also found.
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Padre was hit by
the bus with such force that the vehicle’s windshield was shattered.
His wife who was
with him at the time witnessed the whole incident, and is said to be still
recovering from the trauma caused by that experience.
The couple had
just left a gathering with friends near the IFC building in Central and were hurrying
to catch the bus to their employer’s house near The Peak when Harold reportedly
crossed a red light on Des Voeux Road
near the intersection with Pedder Street.
His wife Liezl
said she tried to pull him back to the kerb but failed to get to him on time.
As the accident
has kept both of them off work, Liezl with help from her friends is seeking
financial assistance from the Philippine government through the Department of
Migrant Workers’Aksyon Fund, and medical aid from the Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration.
She is also
looking at applying for help from the Hong Kong government through its Traffic
Accident Victims Assistance fund, which extends financial aid to family members
of people who die or sustain severe injury from a traffic accident.
Harold has been
employed for less than a year, and was supposed to start driving for their
employer when he met the accident. Liezl still has a few months left to her
two-year-contract.
As the accident happened during their day-off, Harold cannot expect to receive any work injury compensation under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance.
Worse, he could be issued with court summons if he is found to have been at fault in the bus crash. Initial police investigations listed the 59-year-old bus driver as a witness, and was not arrested.
(Those who wish to extend help may contact Liezl Padre at 7019 3328)
