The woman, who only wants to be known as Nona, became an overnight internet sensation after a video of her providing first aid to one of the victims, an old Chinese man covered in blood, went viral.
“I was just trying to help, using the basic first aid and life support knowledge I had learned. I never expected the video of what I did to go viral,” said Nona, who is now affectionately called “Akak Skuter” by netizens.
A 42-second video of the incident posted by a netizen on Facebook garnered over 872,000 views, about 20,000 reactions and more than a thousand comments.
Nona said she had passed the Tanjung Kupang toll plaza after finishing work in Singapore and was on her way home to Skudai when she reached the accident scene, at around 6.40pm, last Wednesday.
“As I slowed down, I noticed two men, one of whom was an elderly man covered in blood, lying on the road,” she was quoted by Berita Harian as saying.
“I immediately stopped my motorcycle, grabbed a clean cloth from my storage box, and applied pressure to the wounds of the 68-year-old Singaporean man and another local man in his 50s, who had both been seriously injured in the collision.”
She said other motorcyclists also offered their help, handing her clean cloth and ropes to tie up the cloth to help control the bleeding of both victims.
“I was just doing what anyone would do – helping those in need, especially since I had basic life support and first aid training from my previous job as a lifeguard at a theme park,” she said, adding that she stayed with the victims until the ambulance arrived some 20 to 30 minutes later.
Nona said she then continued with her journey home, where her family was celebrating her father’s 56th birthday.
She said her husband informed her during dinner that their friends had shared the viral video and had asked if she was the one who had helped the crash victims.
Nona said she was deeply moved by the outpouring of support and well-wishes from netizens, who praised her for helping the victims regardless of race or religion.
“The prayers and encouraging words from everyone were priceless, and I truly appreciate them,” she added.