65YO Bus Driver in Bukit Batok Accident Arrested; SBS Driver Was Injured While Standing at Pavement

If you were to scroll through videos of traffic accidents in Singapore, you’d find that very few of them involve buses.

Buses are much bigger and sturdier than other vehicles on the road, so even if it collides with another car or bike, it’s probably going to come out better.

But what happens when one bus crashes into another?

Well, that’s exactly what happened at Bukit Batok Bus interchange a few days ago. Fortunately, it seems that most of them have recovered from their injuries.

Most of Those Hospitalised From Bukit Batok Accident Have Been Discharged

After the accident, 17 people were found with injuries, five of whom were seriously hurt, though none of the injuries was life-threatening.

Eight were taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, four to National University Hospital and two to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Fortunately, most of those who were hospitalised have now been discharged, Tower Transit said yesterday (12 July).

11 have been discharged from the hospital while four remain hospitalised.

Another three people who had minor injuries at the accident site declined to be taken to hospital.

65YO Bus Driver in Bukit Batok Accident Arrested

Yesterday, Tower Transit said that the driver of the bus that was not carrying passengers had been suspended pending investigation.

Now, the police have confirmed that a 65-year-old male bus driver has been arrested for a rash act causing grievous hurt.

Police investigations are ongoing.

What Happened

The accident, which took place on Saturday evening (11 July), involved two service 945 buses.

One of the buses – the one without passengers – was entering the interchange while the other was pulling out, and they ended up colliding.

The impact caused the second bus to smash through a barrier and land on its side on a ramp that serves as an entry and exit point for buses.

All the passengers were on the bus that flipped; the other bus was empty.

SBS Driver Was Injured While Standing at Pavement

Among those injured was an SBS Transit bus driver who was having a break when he got injured by the falling bus.

A video of the bus smashing through the barrier and flinging the driver onto the ramp has since been shared on Facebook.

The video shows an empty ramp at first, with a view of vehicles passing by on the main road.

Then, a bus suddenly smashes through the fence at the side of the frame, and one person can be seen falling onto the ramp.

Once he’s on the ramp, the bus dangles over the edge and continues to move forward, making it seem as though it’s going to land on the man and crush him.

Fortunately, the bus lands on its left front wheel, causing it to fall on its left side, missing the driver completely.

It appears that the man was standing on the pavement when the accident occurred.

Ms Tammy Tan, SBS Transit’s senior vice-president of corporate communications, said that the driver remains warded in the hospital.

“We are in close contact with his family and are rendering all assistance,” she said.