26 hurt after 4-car collision near Woodlands Checkpoint

He had come to Singapore to visit a friend.

Then, his journey back home to Johor early yesterday morning left him with a car mangled at both ends, though he was thankful that he walked away without a scratch.

Mr Shen Zhongsheng's silver Nissan Serena was crushed by two lorries, after a passenger bus hit the one behind, causing a dramatic chain collision that left more than 20 people injured.

The 30-year-old mechanic told The Straits Times that he had stopped at a traffic light "for barely a minute" between two huge lorries "when the one behind me suddenly rammed into my car", causing it to hit the one in front.

He jumped out of the car and realised a bus behind was pushing all the vehicles together.

"I think I am quite lucky. If the lorry driver behind me hadn't hit his brakes, I could have been injured, badly even," said Mr Shen.

Singapore

Man jumps out of window to escape fire

Dec 20, 2021

Related Stories

Otter attack leaves man with more than 20 wounds

Four people, including two kids, taken to hospital after PMD fire

200 evacuated after fire breaks out at Shaw Centre eatery

The authorities were alerted to the collision involving two trailers, a bus and a car at 21, Woodlands Crossing, near the Woodlands Checkpoint, around 6.10am.

The Straits Times understands that the trailers and car were stationary when the bus approached the line of vehicles.

The bus driver could not stop in time and crashed into the back of one of the trailers, the third vehicle in the line-up.

Passengers in the bus had to climb out through the windscreen of the bus because the door was stuck after the crash.

HOSPITALS

The bus driver and 25 passengers were taken to three hospitals - 13 to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, 10 to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and three to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.

There were no life-threatening injuries. Most of those taken to hospital suffered minor injuries.

The people in the three other vehicles involved in the crash were not injured.

At 8am, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said there was a partial lane closure at Woodlands Crossing because of the accident.

It advised motorists to avoid the extreme left lane after clearing the checkpoint. The lane was reopened at 10.15am.

The ICA also said last week that about 430,000 people are expected to clear the two checkpoints daily during the December holiday period. This is 30,000 more than usual.