SINGAPORE: Much of Singapore is in shock and grief after news broke yesterday (14 Mar) that a two-year-old girl died after her father reversed his van into her in a freak accident. The heartbreaking tragedy took place at Block 326 Woodlands Street 32 around 2.40 pm.
According to the Chinese daily, the four individuals involved in the accident – a 33-year-old man, a 34-year-old woman, a four-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl – were a family who had a meal together at a coffeeshop in the area shortly before the accident occurred.
Eyewitnesses claimed that the toddler fell out of her stroller as it slid down the driveway and was hit by her father’s van as it was reversing. The collision made a loud noise and the driver immediately got out of the car to check what had happened.
When he found that he had hit his daughter, he allegedly collapsed on the spot and hugged his daughter’s body, blaming himself and crying bitterly. The girl’s mother was also deeply shocked and wept.
The Singapore Police Force said that the girl was taken unconscious to a hospital, where she later died. Her mother and brother were also taken to the hospital but were conscious.
One eyewitness told the Straits Times that the driver tried to enter the ambulance but was later arrested for careless driving causing death.
A video of the aftermath of the accident is going viral online. Posted by the SG Road Vigilante Facebook page, the clip shows emergency personnel taking charge of the situation while several members at the open-air carpark can be seen holding umbrellas up for the injured family. A stroller can be seen parked next to the van.
The heart-wrenching incident has sent shockwaves across Singapore and condolences have been pouring in for the unimaginable loss the young family has suffered. Netizens have noted that the incident must be traumatising to both parents and have asked whether the father should really have been arrested on the spot, given the circumstances of the incident.
Send in your scoops to news@theindependent.sg