An 18-year-old food delivery rider has been arrested after he collided into an eight-year-old girl head-on in an accident that took place along Bukit Batok Street 52, around 2.20pm on Friday (15 Jan).
According to some reports, the handle of the delivery rider’s bicycle hit the girl’s left eye, causing the lens of her spectacles to shatter and penetrate her eyeball. The Singapore Civil Defence Force conveyed the young girl to National University Hospital, where she underwent surgery and is under observation.
The child’s mother, a 38-year-old accountant, told the Chinese daily that she was working from home on Friday and went with a friend to fetch their daughters from school. Both mothers and their respective daughters were walking along the sidewalk while pushing a bicycle when the crash occurred.
She recounted, “I saw a food delivery guy coming by on a bicycle, so I pulled my daughter behind me.”
Despite her efforts to protect her daughter, the eight-year-old girl got injured. Her mother said that her daughter yelled after being knocked to the ground by the food delivery rider. She cried and told her mother that the handle of the bicycle struck her left eye.
Her mother said: “My daughter’s glasses shattered on the spot, and the lens had penetrated the left eyeball. I panicked and immediately called for help.”
Revealing that her daughter has undergone surgery at NUH and is under observation, the girl’s mother added: “The food deliveryman also called me to apologize afterwards. We only hope that our daughter can recover as soon as possible.”
The teenaged delivery rider was arrested in a case of negligent act causing grievous hurt. He could be jailed for up to two years and/or be fined a maximum sum of S$5,000 if he is convicted in court.