“The driver is terrible, God protect us,” is the foreboding text message sent by teacher Sharifa Al-Bluwi to her husband just before the accident that left her hospitalized and four colleagues dead.

Al-Bluwi, 37, had been traveling back to Tabuk from her place of work when the tragedy occurred. She has recently been discharged from hospital after what she described as the “journey of death.”

“The recklessness of the driver had forced me to communicate with my husband, to tell him how much I feared an accident would happen,” Al-Bluwi was quoted as saying by a local publication recently.

She said a colleague had earlier advised them to pray Dhuhr and Asr together before leaving work. “We lost four of our very dear friends and colleagues; all we can do now is pray for their souls.”

Ali, Sharifa’s husband, said they have four children and this was her first year as a schoolteacher in Mouwaileh. “She used to work in the private sector,” he said.

There was grief and sadness at the family home of one of the teachers, Nora Al-Howaiti, 33, who died in the accident. Nora’s brother, Atyiah, said this was a double tragedy because their brother, Miteb, died a month ago.

“We thank God for everything. I filed an application to transfer my sister to Tabuk, but officials in the Education Department did not respond to my request,” he said.

He said his sister was the only provider for her mother who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure. “She spent her entire salary on her family. My other sister, Naeema has been teaching in Dhuba since 2008. We have always worried that she might lose her life in an accident because of the unsafe transport.”

The husband of another teacher, Asmaa Al-Enzi, said that when he heard that there was a new driver transporting his wife and her colleagues, he had offered to take her to work, but she refused. He said bus companies must provide the best drivers for their vehicles.