Man jailed and fined for fatal crash on PIE

A lorry driver was sentenced to five weeks' jail and fined $600 for causing the death of a motorcyclist on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) last year.

The accident, which also involved two vans, was captured by the front in-vehicle camera of an SMRT bus.

On Wednesday, the court heard that Tan Quay Chuan, 57, was driving a lorry along the PIE from Lornie Road on Sept 29 at about 1pm when he decided to filter quickly from the fifth to the second lane.

Traffic was heavy and Tan, who had failed to keep a proper lookout or to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front, was unable to brake in time when the van in front of him slowed and applied its brakes.

The vehicles collided, and Tan's lorry swerved violently to the left and hit a motorcycle.

The impact flung its rider, Mr Krishnamurthi S A Ramachandran, and his wife, Madam Malar Kodi Raman, who was riding pillion, onto the road shoulder.

Tan's lorry then collided into another van, shattering the van's windscreen and denting the driver's door.

Mr Krishnamurthi, 44, and Madam Malar, 43, both Malaysians, were taken to the National University Hospital.

The husband, who suffered multiple injuries, was pronounced dead about an hour later.

MULTIPLE SURGERIES

His wife, who sustained a laceration to her right eyelid, thigh abrasions and degloving injuries, had to undergo multiple surgeries.

She was eventually discharged from hospital on Nov 7.

Tan, who was charged for driving without reasonable consideration for other road users, was also disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for five years.

Two other charges were taken into consideration.

For causing death by negligence, Tan could have been jailed up to two years, or fined, or both.