KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 — The husband of the driver involved in a tragic accident that claimed the lives of three Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) students at the Dungun campus has expressed his desire to meet and apologise to the victims’ families in person.

In an interview with Buletin TV3, Azhar Ahmad, 53, said that he wanted to reach out to the families on the night of the incident but postponed his plans following advice from authorities and friends.

“I was heartbroken and deeply saddened by the accident. On behalf of my wife, I wish to extend my sincerest apologies to all the families of the students involved.

“I genuinely intended to visit and apologise that night, but I was advised to wait,” he was quoted as saying.

On the day of the accident, Azhar said that after completing Maghrib prayers with their youngest child, he was shocked to find his wife, who had been watching television, missing from the living room.

“I discovered the gate was open, and I noticed two pairs of her shoes and a piece of clothing were missing from the house.

“She never goes out at night; if she does, it’s always with me and the children. During the day, she would drive to her favourite café near the campus,” he said.

Minutes later, he received a call from a friend informing him that his car was involved in an accident, prompting him to rush to the scene with his youngest child.

Upon arrival, he discovered a student’s body on the road.

“I initially thought there was only one victim, but it turned out to be three. It was a heartbreaking sight.

“After my wife was taken by police, I went to the area where the bodies were and sought out the families to apologise, only to learn that all the victims were from outside Dungun.”

“I left the scene shortly after being directed by police to the station for questioning,” he was quoted as saying.

The following morning, Azhar attempted to visit the victims’ families at the Forensic Room of Dungun Hospital but was advised against it due to concerns of potential unrest.

“I deeply regret this incident; perhaps my wife felt an urgent need to leave the house.”

“No one wishes for such tragedies to occur. I even hid the car keys, yet the accident still happened,” he said.

Azhar told Buletin TV3 that he hopes that the management of UiTM will assist him in connecting with the families of the victims involved.

Terengganu police confirmed that a woman’s Honda CR-V SUV struck two motorcycles carrying four students on Jalan Pantai in front of the campus at around 7:35pm on Wednesday.

Ku Adib Aizad Ku Azmi and Khairil Anwar Jamaludin, both aged 20, and Muhammad Akmal Tukirin, 25, died at the scene.

The fourth student, Muhammad Ammar Danish Mohd Ridhuan, 20, sustained serious injuries.

The 49-year-old woman was arrested at the scene but reports later emerged suggesting that she may have been mentally unstable at the time of the crash.

She was remanded for four days starting yesterday.