A motorcycle lies on the ground after crashing into a parked vehicle on Sunday evening north of Winnipeg. (CBC)
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
The family of a Winnipeg woman killed in a motorcycle crash over the weekend is upset they haven't been able to give her a proper burial
Sabrin Hassan, 20, was a passenger on a motorcycle that crashed with a parked vehicle Sunday evening just north of the city, in the Rural Municipality of St. Andrews.
She was a Muslim Canadian who moved to Winnipeg with her family a year ago from Somalia.
Glenda Lagadi, a friend of the Hassan family, is upset with health officials because Hassan's body hasn't been released to the family. According to Muslim tradition, people are supposed to be buried within 24 hours of their death and are not supposed to be surgically cut into. .
"I don't want to think that they are disrespecting us, but I think they are misunderstanding, I'm heart broken," Lagadi said.
Health officials told the family it's mandatory for an autopsy to be done first before the body is released, Lagadi said, adding the medical examiner's office was expected to conduct the autopsy Tuesday.
Lagadi and the Hassan family want to see more urgency when it comes to a 24-hour burial for religious reasons and to look at changing the rules for autopsies for Muslims. They are writing a letter to the province so other families don't have to go through this.
Lagadi said it was Hassan's first time on a motorcycle, which was being driven by her 26-year-old friend.
He was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after the crash.
Police have said speed was a factor in the crash and only one helmet was found at the scene. They have not said who was wearing it.
Source: CBC News