Buses seem to be all over the news recently.
Just last month, we had an SBS bus captain jailed after falling asleep while driving and subsequently crashing into a bollard.
If that’s not enough, we also had a viral video of an SBS bus captain driving dangerously and flipping other people off.
Keyboard warriors have had multiple field days with SBS in the past month, flooding the comments sections of reports on these incidents with criticisms of SBS, and very colourful language.
Well, they’ll probably be the only ones looking forward to reading this: the bus captain of an SMRT bus hit a 74-year-old man in SengKang and was arrested on Thursday night.
Here’s how it happened.
Bus Captain Arrested for Careless Driving
At about 10:50pm on Thursday, the police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force were alerted to an accident involving a bus and a man at the junction of Compassvale Road and Compassvale Drive.
Photos posted by SG Road Vigilante, Singaporeans’ go-to Facebook group for news regarding road accidents, show the victim lying on the road with half of his body under a stationary SMRT bus. Several passers-by are also seen to be crowded around the victim in front of the bus.
It is reported that the victim was fortunately, still conscious when he was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.
The bus captain, 68, was thereafter arrested for careless driving causing grievous hurt, the police said.
The police also added that investigations with respect to the accident are still ongoing.
What SMRT has to say
While the photos do not show how the accident happened, Mr Vincent Gay, the deputy managing director of SMRT Buses, said that the bus involved in the accident, service 110, was making a right turn when it hit the elderly man.
Mr Gay also added that the bus captain has been suspended from his driving duties.
SMRT’s care team is reaching out to the pedestrian’s next-of-kin to provide support and assistance in these trying times.
Featured Image: Facebook (Singapore road accident.com)
