|
SIXTH AVENUE ACCIDENT: Mr William Widjaja and Mr Alexander Henry Davies died when the car they were in crashed and caught fire. -- FILE PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO
|
|
|
A SPORTS car carrying two teenagers crashed and burst into flames along Sixth Avenue in the early hours of Aug 25 last year - but no one saw how it happened.
The weather was fine, the road surface was dry and visibility, good. Yet the Mazda MX-5 careened out of control, slammed into a tree and a brick wall, and went up in a blaze.
The bodies of Mr William Widjaja, the driver, and Mr Alexander Henry Davies were charred beyond recognition. Samples of their blood and DNA from their parents had to be drawn to confirm their identities.
Yesterday, State Coroner Victor Yeo said he had to record an open verdict on the deaths of the 19-year-olds.
He noted that an inspection did not reveal any mechanical defect that could have caused the car to go out of control.
He also noted that although Mr Widjaja had drunk some alcohol, his blood alcohol level of 32mg was less than half the 80mg that legally defined drink driving.
There was also no evidence that he was acting abnormally and was not in control of the car, said Mr Yeo.
No alcohol was detected in Mr Davies, whose father owned the year-old car.
The few people who were in the area at that hour - about 4am - did not see the crash.
Taxi driver Wan Abu Bakar Ahmad, 57, told the police he had stopped to allow a passenger to alight near Jalan Haji Alias when the Mazda convertible zoomed by at '100-plus kmh'.
The sports car then kept left along the two-way road to accommodate an oncoming motorcyclist before it crested a slope in the road and disappeared from his view. Minutes later, the taxi driver found the car wedged between a tree and the perimeter wall of a house, ablaze.
He called the police but a certain Mr Chan - who was there but also did not see the crash - had just done so.
The police put up a sign at the scene to appeal for witnesses, but no one came forward even after two weeks, said investigating officer Raimi Mohd Yusof.
Neither the motorcyclist nor the taxi passenger could be traced by police, he added.
Investigations indicated that after the crash, the car leaked petrol, which could have been set alight by sparks from the engine.
Mr Davies, a Briton about to start his studies at the University of British Columbia in Canada, died from multiple injuries and burns.
Mr Widjaja, an Indonesian and Singapore permanent resident in his second year at the University of London, died of severe burns. He had been back here to visit former classmates from United World College.
Station Inspector Raimi told the coroner's court the pair had been with friends at Cafe del Mar on Sentosa from 12.30am till 3.45am, and were supposed to meet their friends again at the 24-hour McDonald's outlet off Clementi Road.
Mr Davies' father, Mel, told The Straits Times that he accepted the coroner's verdict.
The company director said his son had a driving licence, and could allow friends to drive the car.
As he left the court, he said: 'It was an accident. They were young and hot-headed.'
His wife was crying softly beside him.
khush@sph.com.sg
|
