Woman taken to hospital after accident involving van in Bishan, driver arrested

SINGAPORE – A man was arrested after an accident in Bishan involving his van, which an eyewitness said flew through the air, and a woman in the afternoon of July 10.

The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the accident at Bishan Street 13 at about 1.10pm.

The van is believed to have skidded in front of the Bishan Ridges Housing Board estate beside Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School, towards Bishan Street 11.

A 47-year-old female pedestrian was conscious when taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, while the 27-year-old driver was arrested for driving without due care and attention causing grievous hurt. The man is assisting with ongoing investigations, the police said.

An eyewitness, who gave his name as Ty Tan, told The Straits Times that he was heading home at about 1.10pm when he saw the accident.

The 50-year-old was waiting at a traffic light near the school when saw the van fly through the air before it hit the roof of a pedestrian crossing and crashed into a woman as it landed on the ground, he said.

Tan then went to help the woman, who was lying on the ground.

“She had blood on her and I could see her leg was twisted. I tried to calm her down but she was crying badly. She said she needed to pick up her employer’s child from school,” he said.

Tan added that he also helped the driver out of the van and diverted students who were nearby away from the scene.

“They had just been released from school, and if the crash happened 30 seconds later, I think the impact of the accident would have been far worse,” he said.

A resident, who lives opposite the accident site, said she was working on her laptop in the living room when she suddenly heard a loud crash.

“It was a very loud bang. After that, I heard sounds of metal falling to the ground. My brother went out of our flat to check what happened and he saw a van turned to its side on the pedestrian walk,” said the 30-year-old, who works in tech and wanted to be known only by her surname Yip.

“He didn’t see anyone get injured but it could be because his view was blocked by the trees. But he did see a young boy helping pedestrians pick their things up from the ground,” she added.

Another resident who lives opposite the accident scene said that he heard a loud sound at 1.10pm when he was doing his chores.

Fung, 67, said: “I went out to see what happened and saw the van on its side. Around 15 minutes later, I heard sirens and saw two ambulances arrive at the scene.”

In a video taken by a passer-by and seen by ST, a van is seen lying on its side near a covered walkway in front of a block of flats. Several people can be seen milling around the scene, with one ambulance subsequently going by.

When ST arrived at the scene at around 2.40pm, a light-coloured van can be seen flipped on its side along the pedestrian crossing.

The windscreen of the van looked severely damaged, with both its side mirrors damaged and detached from the vehicle.

The roof of the pedestrian crossing had collapsed, and a metal pole, which seemed to be a signboard, was bent to the ground near the van. A cordon was set up around the area.

At least two police vehicles and several police officers were at the scene. A tow truck arrived there at about 3pm.

The van was towed away at about 4.10pm, and workers proceeded to clean up the debris and fix the roof of the pedestrian crossing.

A man, clad in all black, was seen handcuffed and led into a police car at about 4.30pm.