An ambulance driver and his three passengers were sent to the hospital on Wednesday (29 April) after being involved in an accident with three heavy vehicles along the Kranji Expressway (KJE).
Photos of the incident posted on Facebook by a Community First Responder (CFR) showed the three passengers lying injured inside the wrecked private ambulance.
Source: Martin M. Wong on Facebook
The CFR, Dr Martin M. Wong, said in his post that he came across the pile-up at about 9.08am while he was on his way to collect vegetables for a charity in Toa Payoh.
Stopping to provide assistance, he noted that the private ambulance appeared to have been sandwiched and badly smashed in the collision.
His photos showed that the ambulance, operated by Grace Ambulance & Services, had crashed into the back of a purple van.
Source: Martin M. Wong on Facebook
This had caused the front of the ambulance to be damaged, with what appeared to be white paint splattered on its windscreen.
The rear window of the van had also been shattered.
Source: Martin M. Wong on Facebook
The van’s front was also damaged, with its bonnet caved in and headlights broken.
Source: Martin M. Wong on Facebook
A few metres in front of the van was a lorry.
Source: Martin M. Wong on Facebook
Behind the ambulance stood a tipper truck which had sustained damage to its front cabin, with debris lying on the road before it.
Source: Martin M. Wong on Facebook
Dr Wong said the vehicle drivers appeared shaken and disoriented, and he directed a person to call 995 and another to help with traffic marshalling.
Inside the ambulance, he saw three people who appeared to be injured.
Two of them, an elderly woman and a nursing aide in scrubs, were not bleeding, conscious and able to communicate. He suspected they had both suffered concussions.
However, a man lying on the floor was “bleeding, in pain, and drifting in and out of consciousness”, Dr Wong noted.
Source: Martin M. Wong on Facebook
After cutting through his jeans to inspect his leg, he suspected the man had sustained a fracture, so he applied a splint and bandage.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived after he had finished bandaging, so Dr Wong briefed them before helping to marshal traffic.
Source: Martin M. Wong on Facebook
Grace Ambulance told The Straits Times that the ambulance was transporting the elderly patient from Bethany Nursing Home to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital for a medical appointment.
Accompanying the patient was a medic and a staff member of the nursing home.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the ambulance driver said that the two vehicles in front had collided first.
This prompted him to slam the brakes, but the ambulance still crashed into the van in front.
The truck then hit the ambulance from behind.
Source: Martin M. Wong on Facebook
In response to queries from MS News, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it was alerted to the accident at 9.05am on 29 April.
It took place along the KJE in the direction of the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE), after the Sungei Tengah exit, and involved one lorry, one tipper truck, one van, and one private ambulance.
Four people were sent to the hospital in a conscious state — a 56-year-old male private ambulance driver and his three passengers aged between 41 and 70.
SCDF, which was alerted at the same time, told MS News that they were all conveyed to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
Police investigations are ongoing.
Also read: Baby In Hospital After Accident Involving SCDF Ambulance & 2 Cars, Police Investigating
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Featured image adapted from Martin M. Wong on Facebook.