Bus driver gets 10 months’ jail for causing death of 18-year-old cyclist in Yishun

Bus driver jailed for causing death of cyclist in Yishun

A tour bus driver has been jailed for causing the death of an 18-year-old cyclist in Yishun last year.

According to The Straits Times (ST), the incident occurred on 12 July 2023 along Yishun Ring Road.

38-year-old Chinese national Yuan Changqing, who was employed by local bus chartering firm Leisure Frontier, was driving his tour bus as part of a shuttle service linking Yishun, Canberra, and Sembawang.

Yuan had approached a discretionary left turn but failed to notice Malaysian national Jeffson Tang, who was attempting to cycle across the pedestrian crossing.

The bus driver then made the left turn without slowing down, subsequently hitting Mr Tang despite the flashing green man indicating that there were six seconds left for pedestrians to cross the road.

Pronounced dead at the scene

Per ST, Yuan only stopped the bus when he heard a sound from the bus’ rear left tyre.

After alighting from the vehicle, he saw Mr Tang lying on the ground with a pool of blood around his head, which prompted him to call the police.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sean Teh also revealed that the impact of the collision flung the 18-year-old cyclist off his bicycle and into the path of the bus, causing him to land under it.

Mr Tang’s father, who witnessed the accident, quickly attended to his son.

Upon the arrival of paramedics, Mr Tang was observed to have suffered multiple abrasions to his lower limbs and injuries to his head.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, with an autopsy report later revealing that Mr Tang’s death was due to head and chest injuries sustained from the accident.

Driver fined for breaking multiple road rules prior to accident

In ST‘s report, the court noted that Yuan had been fined for two counts of careless driving and one count of speeding on three separate occasions between 2019 and 2021.

For the accident involving Mr Tang, Yuan was sentenced to 10 months in jail on Monday (2 Sept) after pleading guilty to one charge of careless driving causing death.

He was also disqualified from all classes of driving licenses for the next eight years.

“I wish to express my apologies to the family of the deceased. It’s too late to say anything else now,” Yuan said during mitigation.

For careless driving causing death, first-time offenders found guilty can be jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.

Also read: 62-year-old motorcyclist dies after getting into accident with car in Jurong

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Featured image from MS News.