Naeema Aftav didn’t know that when she answered the phone in the early morning hours of Nov. 12 she would learn her husband had been injured in a car accident.
“They just said, Manshur is here and you know you need to get here,” she said.
“And they wouldn’t tell me anything. So I just thought maybe the worst has happened.”
Aftav’s husband, Manshur Mariwa, had been driving for Uber earlier that night when he came across an accident on Highway 1 in Burnaby.
Police told Aftav that Mariwa stopped to help and he was subsequently hit by another car.
“That’s all they told me, that while he was helping he got injured,” Aftav said.
She said it wasn’t until a few days later that she found out Mariwa had a client in the car at the time and he had told him that he was going to check everyone was OK.
“He walked towards to help the people and he found injured people,” Aftav said.
However, after that moment, she said her husband does not remember anything.
Burnaby RCMP initially said five vehicles were involved in the collision, BC Highway Patrol later said “at least four vehicles.”
Five people received medical attention including three with serious injuries requiring hospitalization, Highway Patrol said.
“This investigation is in its early stages, but it appears that at least two serious injuries happened after the initial collision when people were outside of their vehicles,” Cpl. Michael McLaughlin with BC Highway Patrol said in a statement.
Aftav said her husband was seriously injured in the collision, suffering a major concussion and trauma to his head.
“I am just very blessed. And he’s very blessed that he’s alive,” she said.
He remains unstable and shaky, Aftav said, and he is dealing with headaches while on a long road to recovery.
However, Aftav said her husband was compelled to stop and help.
“My husband is an internationally trained medical doctor from Pakistan and his background is from the Philippines,” she said.
Aftav, who is a nurse, said they met in Pakistan and came to Canada a few years ago but all the red tape that is required for international graduates to work through in order to become a doctor in Canada left Mariwa just trying to support his family by driving Uber and working at Home Depot.
“Him being a doctor, I think that’s the biggest thing in him, he wants to help,” she said.
The family is now seeking help through GoFundMe to help them get by while Mariwa recovers.
“Emotionally, it is very difficult for him and for myself,” Aftav said. “So, you know, with this little bit of help, at least we are, you know, not going to worry right away for where the money’s going to come from. How am I going to pay the bills?”
ICBC told Global News it will work with WorkSafeBC to ensure Mariwa receives the benefits he is entitled to.
Aftav said her husband needs a lot of personal care at this time, along with specialists, counselling, physiotherapists and emotional support.
She said she has not heard back from Uber yet.
For now, Aftav said she has paperwork to fill out and calls to make along with taking care of her sick husband.
But she is overwhelmed with the love and support from everyone in their communities.
“I have no words to show my gratitude,” she said. “It just shows how important the community is.”