Two drivers trapped after three heavy vehicles collide at SLE

Two drivers were trapped after a three-vehicle accident on the Seletar Expressway (SLE) yesterday. The accident involved a double-decker SBS bus, a lorry and a tipper truck.

The heavy vehicles collided at 10.15am on the SLE, towards Bukit Timah Expressway, before the Yishun exit.

The driver of the tipper truck, Mr Fahil Ashraff, 26, told The New Paper that he was driving on the SLE when he saw in his right rear view mirror the lorry coming towards him.

"The next thing I knew, I heard a bang. Then I felt a strong impact."

Once the truck stopped, Mr Fahil rushed out and dialled for an ambulance.

He saw that the lorry driver was in pain and shouting for help because his left leg was trapped under the damaged steering wheel.

"I tried to help him by pulling the steering wheel upwards, but it was stuck. So was the seat," said Mr Fahil.

He then checked on the bus, which had collided into the back of the lorry, and found the driver was also trapped in his seat.

"He was moaning in pain and there was blood all over his face," he said.

The bus passengers were in shock.

FORCE

Mr Fahil said he tried to use the emergency button to open the bus door but the door was stuck, so he forced his way into the bus.

He tried to calm the passengers and asked them to stay on the bus so that there would not be too many people on the road shoulder.

About 30 passengers were safely evacuated.

The lorry driver was rescued within 10 minutes and the bus driver was extricated after being trapped for about 40 minutes, said Mr Fahil.

They were taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, along with two passengers, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) .

Ms Tammy Tan, senior vice-president of corporate communications at SBS Transit, said the bus driver has been warded, while the two passengers received outpatient treatment.

"We are in contact with the injured and will be rendering assistance as best we can. We are meanwhile assisting the police in their investigations," she said.

The vehicles were towed away two hours after the accident, which caused a jam on the SLE.

Singapore Polytechnic student Micaela Choo, 19, said that it usually takes her 10 minutes to get from Sengkang to Yishun but the trip took 45 minutes yesterday.

An SCDF spokesman said it was alerted at 10.20am. It sent two fire engines, two fire bikes, two ambulances and three support vehicles.

The spokesman said the two drivers were rescued with hydraulic tools.