Crashed bus driver laid to rest

ONE of the bus drivers killed in the road accident at Mutzing in the Markham Valley two weeks ago was laid to rest in Mondomil Village, in Minj district, Western Highlands province.
The remains of Thomas Wamil were transported home on Wednesday morning from the Angau Hospital mortuary in Lae.
At the funeral service, Genega tribal leaders resolved that they would later pursue the accident matter with the bus owner and other parties.
Genega leader Sendi Kaipek said: “We will pursue talks with the bus owner from the Meyamka tribe from Kudjip in the same electorate after police completed their probe.”
Immediate relatives of Mr Wamil alleged that he and the rest of his passengers would not have died if the bus owner did not plead with Mr Wamil to take the trip in the morning.
Mr Wamil’s wife, Grace, said her husband asked the owner to service the bus which was having mechanical problems on his previous trip.
However, it was alleged that the owner insisted that they would fix the mechanical problem when he returned from Lae as he already had passengers on board for Lae.
Mr Kaipek said: “It is now a serious tribal matter. We will pursue the matter with the bus owner after all the investigations is complete.”
Wamil is survived by his wife and four children aged two to 10.