Driver, 63, dies after his car bursts into flames in collision with lorry and trailer

Your father could have been in a car crash, please go and check, her mother told her in an early morning phone call yesterday.

So she rushed to Bukit Batok Road with her two brothers, hoping that it was not true.

They were shocked when they got to the scene.

Their father, Mr Wong For Choon, 63, had died in an accident underneath the Pan Island Expressway flyover.

His white Mercedes-Benz had caught fire.

Speaking to The New Paper yesterday evening, one of his daughters, who wanted to be known only as Madam Wong, 31, said: "All of us broke down. He was a very healthy person."

Wiping tears from her eyes as the family prepared for the wake at the void deck of their father's Choa Chu Kang flat, she added: "It's hard to accept he's gone."

ON WAY HOME

His elder daughter, who also wanted to be known only as Madam Wong, 34, told TNP that her father had been driving from Pasir Panjang to his home when the accident occurred at about 5.40am.

She said that one of his friends had driven past the accident soon after it occurred and spotted what he thought looked like Mr Wong's car.

He phoned their paternal uncle who, in turn, informed their mother.

The younger Madam Wong and her brothers immediately rushed to the scene after their mother's call.

The police said that the accident involved Mr Wong's car, a lorry and a trailer.

The 27-year-old lorry driver, who is understood to be an Indian national, was sent to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told TNP that it deployed a support vehicle, two fire engines and three ambulances to the scene.

But before its officers got to the scene, a member of the public managed to use a fire extinguisher to put out the flames.

The SCDF spokesman said that the father of four was trapped in the car and officers extricated him by using hydraulic rescue tools.He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The police said that investigations are ongoing.

Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao reported that a neighbour said Mr Wong worked as a vegetable wholesaler.

The older Madam Wong told TNP that their mother is finding it difficult to come to terms with the tragedy.

She said: "They were a very loving couple. He was a very caring father and husband."

Mr Wong leaves behind his wife, his children and five grandchildren.

He will be cremated on Saturday.

- Additional reporting by Seow Yun Rong