PARENTS Calvin Hsiung and Jennifer Lee were happy — for his sake — to have their only son leave home in Taiwan and come to Melbourne to study because "he really enjoyed the life here".
In Taiwan, with his businessman father and theology teacher mother both engrossed in their work, he felt lonely, his mother said.
But for the past six months, they heard in regular phone calls how — with the support of her brother in-law, a Taiwanese pastor, and his host family — "he jumped into a family here".
Seventeen-year-old Samuel Hsiung would excitedly tell his parents about his little discoveries in Melbourne of novel differences from life in Taiwan, such as finding different flavour ice-cream available, she said.
But last weekend the couple experienced what any parent who has a child overseas must dread: a phone call from a far away country telling them their son won't be coming home.
Samuel was standing at a bus stop on Saturday morning when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver whose car had careered out of control.
Their son, who wanted to be a nurse, is now in the Alfred Hospital on life support, unable to even fight for his life, after doctors declared him brain dead over the weekend.
Mr Hsiung said they have asked the Immigration Department to fast track a visa for their daughter, Uriah, 19 who they hope can fly into Melbourne this afternoon.
When the family is reunited, they will make a decision about turning off the oxygen that is keeping Samuel physically alive, he said.
The couple arrived in Melbourne on Sunday and have found solace in their religious faith saying "as Christians, we do our best to accept this and of course, we need to take care of our emotions, our love for Samuel".
"But still we feel very positive about Samuel's experience here and we don't think it is a waste, even though the ending is sad," Mr Hsiung said.
Sergeant Brendan Butland from the Major Collision Investigation Unit said Samuel was standing in front of shops on Outlook Drive, Noble Park North, around 11.15am on Saturday when a Black Toyota Corolla travelling towards Brodie's Road, mounted the kerb in front of the shops
Sgt Butland said the vehicle continued moving along the kerb for about 250 metres before the female driver stopped, got out and inspected the front of the vehicle, and then drove off again.
"The driver knew that she had struck something," he said.
Sgt Butland said there was damage to the front passenger's side of the vehicle and to the front passenger side headlights and possibly to the panel in that area.
"Whether she knows she actually hit somebody as opposed to something, we don't know until we can talk to her, but as a person who has travelled off the road and hit something we expect them to pull up and go back and check what it is," he said.
The driver is described as of Asian appearance, aged 20-30 with straight, shoulder-length blond hair.
Mr Hsiung urged her to give herself up to police, saying, "it should be like that, because it is a murder like this".
Samuel was in year 10 at Nazareth College in Noble Park and also attended the Hotham language school. He had joined the Chinese Reform Church and took religion seriously.
As they sat in vigil by his bed, his parents were been joined by Samuel's fellow church members and his classmates. Samuel's mother said: "That's a very loving spirit for us."
脑死亡了，等父母来关氧气了 |
楼主: 我是新人
发表于 11-5-2009 00:28:18
飘过！
