41 year old Vishal was heading home after finishing work on 21 December 2017, when he became one of the 19 pedestrians who were driven over by a white four-wheel drive in the Melbourne CBD.
Speaking about the incident for the first time from Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital, Vishal told SBS Punjabi, “ I don’t have any memory of the incident at all."
"All I remember is that I said goodbye to a colleague as I was turning from Elizabeth St, and then, I was surrounded by paramedics."
His wife Sheenu also described her horror when she found out that her husband was among the Flinders St victims. “I heard about the incident but never thought that Vishal would be affected. But since he was late, I called his phone and some Indian guy picked it up. He told me what happened and I can’t describe what I went through.”
When Sheenu saw him at Alfred Hospital, “he was covered in blood. He was looking at me but couldn’t recognise me. I think he was unconscious. It's just awful to you’re your loved one like that.”
Vishal sustained grievous injuries to many parts of his body. “I have multiple fractures – I have broken ligaments in my right leg, and there’s a major reconstructive surgery that will take place on January 11.”
“I’ve got a ruptured artery in my neck, for which I have wear a collar for a few weeks. I have bruises all over my body, including a major bruise in my arm. “
“I’ve got internal injuries as well – to my kidneys, my pancreas and my liver as well. A little bit of kidney function has also been lost permanently. So the injuries are quite major, but I’m hoping that I’ll make at least a 95% recovery.”
“Doctors tell me that my leg will never be the same again, but I’m really hoping I can bring it back to its original strength.”
Sheenu says, “ I think we’re still trying to cope up with this accident because this has affected our lives in all aspects – financially, mentally, physically and emotionally.”
The fact that Vishal’s mother was hospitalised at the same time in India, made things even harder for them to cope with.
Vishal and Sheenu have been grateful for the support they’ve received from friends and family, whilst various authorities are in touch with them, regarding any financial compensation.
But the December 21 incident on Flinders St seems to have left an indelible mark on the couple’s psyche.
Vishal said, ‘We moved here thinking that Australia is a safe place and has a good quality life – which it has – but lately, especially in Melbourne, crime has really spiked up and Melbourne is really not as safe as its projected to be.”
Going back to the incident, Vishal says he feels anger that he was caught up in this terrible accident, and wonders what the authorities are doing about it. “We’ve had the Bourke St incident in Melbourne last year, when a man drove his car into pedestrians. That was very similar in nature.
"I don’t know what the government did to prevent that from happening again, but it happened again!”
“The government needs to do something to make us feel more safe. After this incident, I won’t be able to go into a large crowd again. I feel fearful.”
Sheenu adds, “Now I think I would be scared if Vishal was out alone. You know its different when you hear about an accident and its different when your family member is involved in one.”
Although it may take weeks and even months for Vishal to recover fully, he feels optimistic about the prognosis.
What concerns him most though, is the sense of insecurity, repeated incidents like this creates. “The government and the police must take preventive measures so that such incidents do not occur in the future.”
“And I also hope justice is done, so that whoever has committed this crime is appropriately punished."
"I’m not an expert in public safety expert, but the government should look at what caused this – and what can they do to prevent his from happening again.”
"The worry is that vehicles are increasingly being used as a weapon nowadays. Even recently in France and other places, the same thing happened. I’m not an expert to advise the government on how they can prevent this from happening again, but maybe they can form a committee who can do a proper research and recommend some checks and balances for the future.”
