Grandma killed by funeral bus
Vehicle rolls down slope, hits woman at Bukit Panjang junction
Madam Ong Lim, 68, would head to the market near her Cashew Road flat to do her shopping almost every morning.
Tragically, her marketing trip on Friday turned out to be her last.
In a freak accident, a runaway funeral bus hit Madam Ong, who was standing on a kerb trying to hail a taxi, as it rolled down a slope after the driver had parked it there.
She was taken to the National University Hospital (NUH), where she died from her injuries at around 11.15am.
Her granddaughter, Madam Agnes Chai, said she found out about the accident while she was at work.
"According to the driver, he left the vehicle for a toilet break before the accident and had engaged the handbrake," says Madam Chai, 26, who works in sales.
"Somehow, the bus rolled down a slope and hit a road sign before hitting my grandmother. The sign also hit my grandmother after that."
Madam Chai's younger brother, Mr Jeffrey Chai, 22, said Madam Ong was on her way home from Bangkit Market when the accident occurred.
He says: "The market is about a 10-minute walk away from her flat at Block 133, Cashew Road, and she would go there every morning.
"On Friday, she decided to take a taxi home as her legs hurt. She was also carrying several plastic bags."
Mr Chai, who helps out at his father's food and beverage business, told TNPS that Madam Chai was standing by the roadside at the junction of Bukit Panjang Ring Road and Bukit Panjang Road when the bus, which is from the Singapore Muslim Casket, hit her.
Singapore Civil Defence Force said it deployed an ambulance to the scene and Madam Ong was taken to NUH.
Madam Chai added that the family members are now asking for eyewitnesses to come forward as they wish to find out what exactly happened.
One of Madam Ong's sons, driver Lim Ah Eng, 48, made a police report about the incident at around 7pm yesterday.
He said she was dragged for about 3m on the ground after the bus hit her.
POLICE REPORT
The police said they received a call about the incident at around 10am on Friday.
They also confirmed that a report was made and investigations are ongoing.
Responding to queries from TNPS, a spokesman for the Singapore Muslim Casket said the driver involved in the incident has been with the company for more than 10 years and has never been involved in other accidents before.
The spokesman said after the driver parked the bus and ensured it was stationary, he went to Al-Iman Mosque at Bukit Panjang Ring Road. Nobody else was in the vehicle.
The driver later heard a commotion, with people saying that an accident involving a bus and a pedestrian had taken place nearby.
The spokesman says: "He only knew that someone was injured when he saw an ambulance leaving the scene. We are currently assisting the traffic police with their investigations. We send our condolences to the family in their time of grief."
- Additional reporting by Phyllis Lee
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