Elderly valet sent to hospital after taxi crashes into him at Marina Bay Sands

A taxi ploughed into a 70-year-old man at Marina Bay Sands on Saturday (Sept 24) afternoon. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM VIDEO

SINGAPORE - A Marina Bay Sands (MBS) valet captain was taken to hospital after a taxi ploughed into him on Saturday (Sept 24) afternoon.

In an incident caught on video, the 69-year-old man is seen walking on the hotel driveway at Bayfront Avenue's Tower 1 when he notices a red Trans-Cab taxi approaching him at speed.

He slows down, but despite his attempts to backpedal, the vehicle hits him and sends him flying.

The taxi then crashes into a pillar. Throughout the incident, the sound of screeching tyres can be heard. The taxi driver emerges from the car as scores of passers-by go to check on the elderly man.

Footage of the incident was sent to citizen journalism website Stomp, and also uploaded on the Facebook page of road safety community Beh Chia Lor - Singapore Road.

An MBS spokesman said that the elderly man was performing his duty at the time of the accident.

"He is currently being treated in hospital. We are rendering assistance to him and his family during this time, and are currently helping the authorities in their investigations," the spokesman added.

Both the elderly man and the 52-year-old taxi driver were sent conscious to Singapore General Hospital (SGH), the Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said.

The SCDF added that it was alerted at 1.32pm and dispatched two ambulances to the scene. SGH was alerted to be on standby to receive the 69-year-old man.

The police said that it was alerted at around 1.30pm to an accident involving a taxi, a car and a pedestrian at Bayfront Avenue.

Police investigations are ongoing.

When contacted, Trans-Cab said it was investigating the incident.

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