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One of the victims of US car crash identified as SAF scholar

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His sister, the only survivor in the family, believed to be in stable condition


One of the victims of the fatal car crash in the United States last Friday has been identified as Singapore Armed Forces scholar Justin Yeo Jun Xi.

Mr Yeo, 22, a sophomore at the University of California, Berkeley, was on holiday with his parents and younger sister, who had flown over to visit him and other relatives in the US.

The family was travelling north towards the Grand Canyon in a silver Hyundai when their car crossed the painted median and collided head-on with a green Dodge van.

Only Mr Yeo's 19-year-old sister Justlyn Yeo Jing Hui survived.

Mr Yeo and his parents were pronounced dead at the scene.

He was among the top A-level graduates in Dunman High School in 2013 and received the SAF Merit Scholarship in 2015.

In university, he co-founded Dingo, an app that lets users easily notify friends when they have reached their intended destination, without having to send out text messages.

He had also recently joined an entrepreneurship fraternity.

Ms Yeo is a first-year student at Nanyang Technological University's Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.

She is believed to have undergone surgery on her spine and is in a stable condition after being transferred out of the intensive care unit.

Relatives have flown to the US to take care of her, according to reports.

The older Mr Yeo had been a renovation contractor but suffered a stroke and was unable to work.

His wife, an administrative worker, became the sole breadwinner.

A neighbour interviewed by Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao said the Yeo siblings were polite to neighbours, filial and close to each other.

BADMINTON

They were often seen playing badminton together.

The Straits Times spoke to several of the younger Mr Yeo's friends, who confirmed his death but declined to share more about the siblings.

When contacted, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also declined comment, citing respect for Ms Yeo's privacy.

Last Friday's incident left a stretch of the highway closed for seven hours to allow for investigations after the accident, which occurred at 2.21pm local time (5.21am last Saturday, Singapore time).

The driver of the van, who was from Spain, also died at the scene.

Earlier news reports had suggested that the Yeo family were travelling in the van.

A total of five people, including four Spanish passengers in the minivan, were injured, an Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman said.

ACCIDENTS FIRE FLOOD