A small hatchback was crushed by a lorry in a four-vehicle pile-up, which also involved a Mercedes-Benz saloon and a double-decker bus, along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 yesterday afternoon.

The male driver of the hatchback was trapped in his car and had to be extricated by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers with heavy appliances.

An SCDF spokesman said the driver was conscious when taken by ambulance to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he was found to have suffered multiple injuries.

The female driver of the bus was also taken to hospital after she complained of pain in her abdomen and right knee.

The accident took place just before the traffic light junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 and Serangoon Avenue 6.

The police said they received a call about the accident at about 1.55pm yesterday. Investigations are ongoing.

Mr Low Choon Meng, who was behind the wheel of the lorry, told The Sunday Times at the scene that he ploughed into the hatchback because he did not realise the lights had turned red, and the cars in front of him had stopped.

The 57-year-old also said he was not aware that the white hatchback was directly in front of his lorry.

"I had just finished my last assignment and I was driving back to the warehouse," he said.

"I didn't realise the lights were red. The next thing I knew, I had slammed into something in front of me. I saw that I had wrecked a car only when I got out of my lorry."