A white Audi R8 V10 knocked over four lamp posts on Bras Basah Road towards Raffles Boulevard in a pre-dawn crash.

The police were alerted to the accident at 5.56am yesterday.

They arrested the 31-year-old driver of the sports car for suspected drink driving. He suffered minor injuries and was taken to Singapore General Hospital for treatment.

The New Paper understands that the driver had lost control of his vehicle while travelling in the right-most lane of the four-lane road.

There was a female passenger in the car. Her condition is unknown.

Social media was abuzz over the accident, with pictures showing the front bumper dislodged and a wheel at the side of the road.

When TNP arrived at the scene, there were pieces of the car strewn all over the pavement.

The right-most lane of the four-lane road was cordoned off, causing a traffic jam that stretched about 1.3km.

Four of the five lamp posts on the stretch next to the Cathedral of Good Shepherd were knocked over.

AFTERMATH

Three cleaners working at the NTUC Income Centre opposite the cathedral told TNP they saw the aftermath of the accident when they reported to work at 6am yesterday.

They said the driver was no longer at the scene then.

Road safety expert Gerard Pereira, manager at the Singapore Safety Driving Centre, said the driver must had been speeding to knock down four lamp posts.

He told TNP: “Had he braked when he hit the first lamp post, he would’ve knocked down one instead of four.

“It is possible that he lost control of the car or maybe dozed off.”

Singapore Road Safety Council chairman Bernard Tay said: “It is difficult to jump to conclusion but to hit four lamp posts, it is possible that there was something wrong with the car or the brakes, or the driver was not in the right condition to drive.”

Mr Pereira said although the accident took place in the wee hours of the morning, the driver was lucky he did not hit anyone.

“Regardless of the time of the day, someone could have been hit,” he said. “If this had happened later and there was heavier traffic, it would have been harder for him to speed.

“He would have been more alert because other vehicles would be surrounding him.”

Mr Pereira stressed that drivers should never drive and drink.

Netizens have taken to social media to express their outrage.

Student Lee Hong Zhu, 23, told TNP that when he heard about the accident, he was angry because it could have been people instead of lamp posts.

“Thankfully it was only some lamp posts, they can be replaced,” he said.

“People should not drink and drive. Not only are they endangering their own lives, they’re also endangering others.”

TNP previously reported that if a driver crashes into a lamp post, and it needs to be replaced, it will cost the driver $2,000.

This article was first published on November 23, 2016.
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