Leg Ops for victims of drunk driver
Drunk driver. 2 innocent girls. Wrong place, wrong time. Now they are paying, and he is let off. Please read on...
This is Sokchan, 18, my sister in law. The other young girl is Sokchan's school friend Sokmealea, also 18. I am Daniel, British, my partner Cambodian, and as such, Sokchan's sad story takes place in Cambodia.
A drunk driver smashed his car into a motorbike with two, 18 year old girls driving on it, on the night of the Thursday 5th January, 2017. Upon impact, they were both thrown over 10m across the asphalt. The collision was brutal, near fatal. However, he didn't stop. After he struck the girls, he quickly tried to escape from the scene, but foolishly smashed into a parked car, stopping him in his tracks. He was caught and was taken to the police station. All because he couldn't wait for the car in front of him to give way at a crossroads.
Sokchan and Somealea were severely injured. At the scene, Somealea had a bone in her leg snapped and forced through the skin and even the jeans she was wearing. Sokchan is worse off, having had her shin bone shattered, her hip forced from it's socket and her pelvis cracked. They were taken to a private clinic. The operations were carried out quickly due to the severity of the injuries, the owner of the clinic has been sympathetic to their story, and has delayed payment until after their treatments have ended. We have been told that the operations on Chan and Mealea will cost us $10,000 dollars for each girl. This price is before further treatments, rehabilitation, medicines, and not including the $400 ambulance ride that got them to the clinic.
The surgeon believes that the operations seem to have been successful, though both may not be able to stand up for the next two months. They are both underpriveleged 18 year old students trying to make something of their lives, at Paul Dubrule Hotel and Tourism school in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
The families of the girls have spent over two days in the police station, trying to get the driver to accept responsibility and pay for the surgery. He is a business owner and he has the funds to afford the treatments. Today however, he said he would pay each girl $1,000. Unfortunately, the legal system does not work the same way here as back home. Poor people cannot afford to pay for representation, and are often left with nothing. The accused often get away with their crimes. In Sokchan's case, the police are already siding with the driver because he is wealthy, the girls are not, and this has left both families in an abysmal situation. There is no justice. The drivers lack of remorse has left us speechless and disgusted.
The average wage of a Cambodian person is $150 (£122) per month. Health insurance is not a viable option, starting from around $1000 per person, per year. For this reason, almost nobody can afford to be covered, leaving them to fend for themselves in case of accidents and emergencies.
Because the treatments are happening now and are ongoing, we don't know the exact figures, only what the hospital have quoted us so long as nothing goes wrong, eg. Infections. We will post the receipts of each treatment as they arrive, and keep everybody who has helped, updated and aware of the both the financial situation, and the physical situation of Sokchan and Somealea. Because Cambodian banks aren't an option to receive funds, the donations are being sent to my account in England. Once we receive the donations required, I will transfer them to my Cambodian bank account, as the girls don't have one between them. Then, I will pay in cash, all of the costs as they arrive. I will be updating with ALL receipts as they are paid, to keep everybody aware and be as transparent as humanly possible. I am Sokchan's brother in law, and she is so special to us all. Her friend is poor, and so any donations received will be divided equally between the two, and if there are remaining costs, our two families will work them out between us.
Two young, innocent lives have been potentially ruined by a drunk who accepts no responsibility for his actions. Your help will be invaluable to the healing of the families and the girls involved in this tragic accident. In this time of sadness, any help or support, financial or otherwise, gives everybody sorely needed hope and will encourage a strong, healthy recovery for Sokchan and Somealea.
We thank you, everybody, for your support.
Thank you so much.
From the bottom of our hearts.
Thank you.
xxx
