19-year-old Joo Chiat accident victim was a law student, about to start school in Aug

19-year-old accident victim in Joo Chiat was a bright student, says mother

A 19-year-old girl who died after a road accident at Joo Chiat, Dorothy Naomi Tan, was about to enrol in law school, according to her mother.

Her mother told Shin Min Daily News that she believes she was hit by a vehicle while returning home from the gym.

They’re still looking for accident witnesses.

Dorothy Naomi Tan was hit by van after gymming session in Joo Chiat

47-year-old Ms Tan said in an interview that Dorothy was a student of Raffles Girls’ School and had just completed her A-Level examinations last year.

She’d accepted an offer to study at the Singapore Management University (SMU) Law school and was going to start school next month.

Ms Tan, who works in human resources, believes Dorothy had gone to the gym early on Saturday (8 June) and was crossing the road when a vehicle hit her.

Her mum also said the entire family was on holiday in Beijing, China, when the accident occurred. Although Dorothy had joined them for the holiday, she’d caught an earlier flight back to attend some church activities.

Although the rest of her family rushed back to Singapore when they learned about the accident, it was too late and she’d passed on.

She added that Dorothy had wanted to become a lawyer like her father and that she also studied French and Japanese.

In a Facebook post on 11 June, Ms Tan said: “See you next time, my beloved daughter, Dorothy Naomi Tan.”

Employee at mall hoped she would survive

A male employee working in the shopping mall told Shin Min that after hearing customers talk about a car accident outside that day, he immediately went out to check the scene and saw a woman lying on the road, motionless.

“There weren’t any obvious signs of blood,” he said. “When the ambulance arrived and paramedics placed her in a stretcher, I saw her hand move. I thought she would be fine and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. I didn’t expect that she would pass away, it’s pretty upsetting to hear.”

Around 10 people came to help her, but none of them moved her — they instead formed a barricade around her to protect her from cars on the road.

The reporter noted that there weren’t any traffic lights or zebra crossings on the section where the accident occurred. However, that road normally has a lot of traffic, so one needs to be extra careful when crossing the road.

Ms Tan, the owner of a nearby dry cleaning shop, pointed out that this is not the first time a car accident has occurred in the area.

The 59-year-old hopes that the authorities can add road humps or other measures on this road section to slow down the speed of vehicles and avoid car accidents.

Police confirmed with MS News they had received a report that the accident involved a van and a pedestrian. A 19-year-old female pedestrian was sent to the hospital in an unconscious state and eventually died. A 24-year-old truck driver is assisting in the investigation.

Police investigations are still ongoing.

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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and Facebook.