An elderly woman was run over by a Singapore-Johore Express bus at Woodlands Checkpoint back in 2019 and she appeared in court yesterday (21 August) to testify while sitting in a wheelchair.
What happened
Shin Min Daily News reported that the incident took place on June 24, 2019, at 10:44 AM, when the 75-year-old woman had boarded the Singapore-Johore Express coach along with her niece and granddaughter from Rochor Road.
As the coach reached the Woodlands Checkpoint, the passengers began to disembark, leading to the horrifying turn of events.
The elderly woman’s niece and granddaughter were the first to alight from the bus. The woman, waiting for other passengers to disembark before her, stayed behind.
After a short while, she made her way towards the rear door of the bus, grasping the handrail for support.
As the woman was in the process of stepping out, the coach allegedly started moving before her foot could even touch the ground, causing her to lose her balance and fall out of the vehicle.
The rear wheel of the bus then ran over her leg, resulting in the woman suffering multiple fractures to her lower body as she shouted in pain.
Appeared in court in a wheelchair
She appeared in court on August 21, 2023, in a wheelchair, to testify about the incident. The 44-year-old driver of the coach faced a charge of negligence resulting in injury. However, he pleaded not guilty.
The court proceedings shed light on the conflicting accounts of the incident. The prosecution argued that the negligence of the driver directly caused the woman’s injuries.
On the other hand, the defense presented a different narrative. The driver’s lawyer claimed that the woman had already disembarked from the bus when it started moving.
An auxiliary police officer who was present at the scene testified that he had to bang on the front door of the bus to alert the driver to the situation.
This contradicted the driver’s claim that he had checked the rearview mirror and saw everyone disembarked before driving off.
The woman maintained her assertion that the bus had started moving before she could fully exit, leading to her fall and subsequent injuries. Her physical condition at the time and her lack of pre-existing medical conditions further supported her testimony.
At the time of writing, the hearing into the case is still ongoing.