SINGAPORE: An accident involving a minibus, lorry, and a motorcycle occurred along the East Coast Parkway (ECP) on Wednesday morning (Nov 8). The minibus braked suddenly after a man jumped out of it. This caused the lorry to abruptly brake as well, and the motorcyclist who had been following the lorry ended up hitting the lorry.
Other motorists later came to the aid of the motorcyclist. A nurse, Ms Lynn Long-Yam, along with marathoner Ashley Liew, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the motorcyclist, while Mr Liew’s wife, Ms Sandra Faustina, stayed on the phone with emergency services.
When an ambulance arrived, the motorcyclist was brought unconscious to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Unfortunately, the 27-year-old man later succumbed to his inquiries and died.
The 38-year-old man who jumped out of the minibus is in police custody and is assisting with investigations. The accident occurred before the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway exit on the ECP towards Marina Coastal Expressway at around 11:05 am. The Singapore Civil Defence Force received a call for assistance shortly afterwards.
Ms Long-Yam, who works at Active Global Respite Care, said the man was unresponsive when she got to him. “I called out to him, I tried to pat him on the shoulder because he was lying on his left side, almost face down,” she is quoted in CNA as saying.
Mr Liew and Ms Faustina arrived just a few minutes afterwards, and when they turned the motorcyclist over to perform CPR, they saw that his wrist was broken and that he was bleeding from a head injury.
They were later joined by a staff member from Tan Tock Seng Hospital, who also helped them check on the injured man. While waiting for an ambulance to arrive, Ms Long-Yam and Mr Liew continued to perform CPR on the motorcyclist.
CNA reports that the mini-bus driver said 15 to 20 minutes had passed before people on the ECP stopped to help out.
The nurse and the marathoner expressed concerns when they heard this, as the window of time immediately after an accident is crucial to a person’s life. “Those precious 15, 30 minutes could be better utilised,” Mr Liew said.
CNA further reported that Ms Long-Yam and the Liews had offered condolences to the motorcyclist’s family, whom they contacted after the accident. They learned that the man left behind a wife who was pregnant. /TISG
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