68-year-old Siah Keok Tiang, died after the bus that he was in suddenly braked to avoid a collision, and he was thrown forward inside the bus.
His death was ruled a misadventure by state coroner Adam Nakhoda on Wednesday (10 August).
The incident happened on 8 September 2021, and Mr Siah died eight days after the accident, succumbing to his injuries.
His cause of death was ischaemic heart disease with multi-organ failure, with the contributory cause of his death being a head injury.
The injuries he suffered were consistent with those from a road traffic accident.
Nakhoda described the incident as “unfortunate”, and said that there were lessons that drivers can learn from the tragic incident.
What happened
Siah was on his way home from dialysis treatment on board Bus 175, when the incident occurred along North Bridge Road.
He pressed the bell to indicate that he wanted to alight and was sitting on the edge of his seat on the left side of the bus at the front, and he was holding onto a pole.
The bus was driving on the bus lane on the left of the road at the time; and a car, which was on its way to pick up a food delivery, was ahead of the bus.
The driver of the car wanted to turn left into Liang Seah Street and indicated that he was turning left before the junction of Tan Quee Lan Street, about one street before Liang Seah Street.
The bus driver testified that he was about 3 to 4 cars away from the entrance to Liang Seah Street at the time and was looking in front when he saw the car cutting into his lane.
He then stepped on the brakes to avoid a collision while the car swerved back into the lane to the right side of the bus lane.
Mr Siah was then thrown off his seat and he was semi-conscious and lying down on the ground, at the front of the bus.
Paramedics then arrived and took him to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, including fractured ribs and neck injuries.
He eventually died on 16 September 2021.