IT took Natasha Chong a long time before she was able to go near the intersection at First Street and Warburton Street, for it is the place where in June 2009, her 62-year-old mother Edna Chong, lost her life.
“Mum was driving that afternoon after work, taking my brother Clinton somewhere, when a car didn’t stop at the stop sign.
“It hit her.
“They took her to hospital. I was picking the kids up from crèche, and my son heard the sirens, and said somebody must be hurt.
“I remember thinking, oh no, someone’s been in an accident.
“I didn’t know it was mum.”
Ms Chong, 41, said the hours and days that followed were a blur.
“When I got home, my brother came running in and he just told us to get to the hospital.
“Mum was badly injured.
“She died three times at the hospital and was brought back. They were keeping us away, but when I heard that, I just thought no, I have to be with my mum, to show her I’m here.
I know she fought.”
Ms Chong said coming to terms with such a personal tragedy is a never-ending battle.
And there isn’t a moment in which the client service officer can escape the pain of what happened to her beloved mum.
“I used to work at Centrelink, and mum would come in there a lot.
“Going back to work was just too hard.
“I just kept looking at that door, waiting for her to walk in.
“The worst part is you don’t realise until you lose your mum, that your whole world is gone."
To read Natasha's full story, see this week's August 1 edition of the Katherine Times newspaper.