Alban Bowman: She was my driving force
Two years ago, Alban Bowman bought his wife a car for her birthday. He still remembers when he drove it into the yard of their Villa home and presented it to her.{{more}}
âShe hugged me and told me that she loved me….â He couldnât finish the thought, as it hit home that his wife of 16 years had been crushed to death in that very car, when about 60 feet of retaining wall collapsed on her at Ratho Mill.
âShe motivated me. she was my driving force,â said Alban.
Bowman, a pharmacist, told SEARCHLIGHT that when he heard of the collapsed wall he didnât think much of it at first.
He, however, tried to reach his wife so that he could warn her because he knew that she tried to get to her restaurant at Canash by 11:30 a.m. He didnât get through to her.
Then someone else who was trying to reach his wife called Bowman at about 1 pm, and when attempts that he subsequently made to reach her failed, he knew.
âI started to shake. immediately my mind just knew that she was under there,â he said.
He told SEARCHLIGHT that he made his way to the site with no doubt in his mind that his wife was under that pile of muddy rubble.
John Child, the driver of a passenger van which narrowly escaped the avalanche, also had no doubt.
He told SEARCHLIGHT that as he drove his van (HK 456) with 16 passengers heading to Owia, he was moving along very slowly because of the heavy rains.
He said that he remembers giving way to a car, shortly before the walls came down. The wall pushed the van away, and luckily, only three passengers, including his
18-year-old daughter, were injured.
Child said that he had made it clear that he was pretty certain that the car he let pass did not escape the falling walls.
âAll in the hospital I told a nurse that they had to find that car,â Child said, as he thanked God for sparing him and his passengers from that almost certain demise.
Meanwhile, Bowman watched with anxiety as the tons of rubble were being cleared.
He recalled a conversation with NEMOâs Director, Howie Prince, who he said told him that it didnât seem as if the car was under the pile.
âI had to insist. I told him that I was sure my wife was there. I knew it,â Bowman said.
Prince, however, at a press conference on Tuesday, gave his explanation about what took place in that conversation with Bowman.
He said that after the excavator had gone through the entire area once and didnât find anything, he did say to Bowman that maybe the car wasnât there.
He admitted that Jack-Bowmanâs family was insistent, and between himself and Chief Engineer Brent Bailey they instructed the excavator operator to go through again.
âNow when it (the excavator) went through the first time, nothing was discovered. At that point, we said to the family, we went through once and nothing. That was the point in which they were insisting that it may be there.â
Prince said that when the excavator operator was told to go through again, he (the operator) was worried that he would damage the road because of how low he would have had to go to the ground.
âThe excavator driver was saying Iâm going to mash up the road and we (Chief Engineer Bailey (at right) and Prince) said the road can be fixed. we want to find whatâs under there,â Prince said.
It was during this second âgo throughâ by the excavator that the car was discovered. (KJ)
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