SINGAPORE: A video of a taxicab driving away after the driver thought everyone had already alighted has gone viral since a toddler was still in the vehicle. When an elderly man, presumably a relative of the child, tried to take her from the back seat, he and the child ended up falling after getting hit by the door of the cab.
The video of the incident, which happened at the drop-off point at Somerset 313, was posted on the SG Road Vigilante – SGRV Facebook page on Sunday (Dec 17). The mishap occurred at 11:47 that morning, the caption says: “taxi driver moving off before passengers had alighted. resulting child & adult falling. Taxi driver drove off with rear door open, with young child still inside. Causing an adult and the child to fall down.”
The caption also says that the driver of the blue ComfortDelGro taxi “did not even attempt to alight and apologize” or even check on the uncle and the child. The video has been viewed over 125,000 times and widely shared and commented on.
When The Independent Singapore contacted ComfortDelGro for comment, the taxi company told us via a spokesperson: “We are currently investigating the incident. In the meantime, we have reached out to the passengers to offer our assistance and reminded our cabbies to be aware of their surroundings before moving off.”
The clip on the SGRV FB page begins with the cab pulling into the drop-off point. All three passenger doors opened, and two women—one older and one younger—alighted from the back seat while the older man exited from the front seat.
The older woman pops her head back into the cab momentarily before turning away, and the man stands in front of the open back door on the left side, presumably in preparation to help the small child alight.
Meanwhile, the younger woman takes packages from the trunk and puts them aside on the ground, and when she is done, she closes it. However, as soon as she does so, the cabby starts driving away even as the man is still in front of the open back door. He quickly reaches into the cab and grabs the child while the taxi is still moving, albeit slowly.
But he ends up getting hit by the open door and falls to the ground with the little girl in his arms. The two women rush to them, and after ensuring that the toddler seems all right, they walk away.
Meanwhile, the taxi driver stopped the vehicle but stayed inside. The older man is then seen pointing one finger at him, and he walks away after the rest of his family. The taxi driver then proceeds to leave. /TISG
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