Two trapped in vehicle after lorry collision
Three sent to hospital following collision between pick-up and lorry in Tampines
When an operations manager received a call yesterday afternoon, he had the shock of his life.
One of his company's pick-up truck drivers was on the line. His vehicle had collided with a lorry at 1.40pm.
"He said he was in an accident but he didn't sound like he was in a lot of pain. He was speaking very normally," said the manager, who wanted to be known only as Mr Mani.
"Then he told me he was trapped in the truck."
A colleague, a mechanic, was also trapped in the front passenger seat after the accident at the junction of Tampines Road and Greenwich Drive.
"He (the driver) said he was bleeding," said Mr Mani, 39.
"He told me they tried, but couldn't get out (of the vehicle)," he added.
He said: "Of course, I was shocked but I was quite calm because (the driver) could still talk.
"I told him to call an ambulance. But I was very worried so I rushed down."
Mr Mani reached the scene at about 2.15pm and found the front passenger sitting by the kerb being tended to by paramedics.
The driver was still stuck inside the pick-up and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers were trying to free him.
There was blood all over his face, said Mr Mani.
Mr Chung, who was supervising road works about 30m away, said he had heard a loud crash at the time of the accident.
He said the pick-up was travelling along Tampines Road towards Buangkok East Drive.
It then collided with a larger lorry that was turning out of a side road to Tampines Road.
"When I heard the noise, I knew it was a serious accident," Mr Chung said.
MANGLED
When The New Paper visited the scene, broken glass and debris from the crash littered the junction.
The front of the pick-up was dented and mangled.
The impact was so great that both vehicles ended up facing the opposite direction.
Mr Chung, 35, said the driver of the lorry did not look like he had any injuries but he was grabbing his chest in pain. TNP understands that he is a 57-year-old Singaporean.
TNP also understands that the driver of the pick-up is an Indian national, 25, while his passenger is a Bangladeshi, 34. Both are male.
Mr Chung, who also declined to give his full name, said he had been working along that stretch of road since October last year and this was the first time he had seen an accident there.
An SCDF spokesman said it was alerted to the accident at about 1.40pm.
Its officers used hydraulic rescue tools to rescue the driver and passenger from the pick-up.
A fire engine, a Red Rhino, two fire bikes, a support vehicle and three ambulances were dispatched and all three casualties were taken to Changi General Hospital.
The police said that investigations are ongoing.
"He said he was in an accident, but he didn't sound like he was in a lot of pain. He was speaking very normally. Then he told me he was trapped in the truck."
- Mr Mani, operations manager of the company that owns the pick-up truck
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