Fatal Pie Accident: The Coroner Said The Deceased’s Seat Was Closest To The Impact Point At The Back Of The Truck

Singapore: Two foreign workers died after their truck collided with a stationary truck on the Pan Island Expressway (PIE). They were sitting in the back of the truck, closest to the cabin. On Wednesday (October 20), the state coroner Adam Nakhoda discovered that Mr. Hossain Toffazal, a 33-year-old Bangladeshi national, and Mr. Sugunan Sudheeshmon, a 28-year-old Indian national, died of multiple injuries and were involved in a road traffic accident. Match. The court learned that on the day of the accident on April 20 this year, Mr. Hussein and Mr. Su Gunan were sitting in the back of a truck with 14 other workers of Bright Asia Construction. On the morning of the accident, the truck driver heard the sound of a tire burst and drove his vehicle registered with Evergreen Waste Management to Changi along PIE’s 3 or 4 lanes. He parked the truck on the shoulder of the road before the Jalan Bahar exit, but due to the narrow shoulder, the truck partially protruded into the 5th lane of the 5-lane lane. The driver turned on the truck’s hazard lights to warn other approaching drivers, and got out of the truck to check the tires. He found that one of the tires had been punctured. Sequence of events At the same time, the deceased and their colleagues were picked up by their truck driver in their dormitory in Tuas South. Mr. Hussein and Mr. Su Gunan were sitting in the back seat of the truck, closest to the left side of the cabin. Another 14 workers also sat in the back.

The court heard that the driver was sitting alone in the cabin while he was heading to Jurong West to pick him up in front of him.

The coroner said that there was no evidence that any workers were standing during the journey, and there was no evidence that the number of workers behind exceeded the number of workers that could be carried on the back of the truck.

The truck driver initially drove in the 4th lane of PIE, with an estimated speed of 60 kilometers per hour. As the truck approached the Jalan Bahar exit, the PIE widened to a five-lane road.

At about 6 in the morning, as the driver planned to exit from the Jalan Bahar exit, he changed lanes from lane 4 to lane 5, but only noticed the truck parked on the shoulder when he was about two trucks away.

He turned to the right and braked, but could not prevent the collision. The front left part of the truck collided with the rear right part of the truck, and 17 seconds after the truck stopped, the truck driver had not had time to post a failure sign.

The impact shrank the front of the truck and crushed the rear deck.

A minibus driver who arrived at the scene of the accident stopped his vehicle and called the police.

Condition of truck passengers
The paramedics at the scene found that Mr. Hussein and Mr. Su Gunan were trapped in the back of the truck. It takes them about 30 minutes to rescue Mr. Hussein from a cardiac arrest.

Despite medical intervention, he died later that morning.

Mr. Sugunan was also rescued from the back of the truck, while the other 14 workers were taken to the hospital due to various injuries but survived.

Judge Nakhoda stated that Mr. Sugunan lost his pulse at 7:46 am, and his pulse recovered after CPR, but his prognosis was poor.

Despite receiving treatment, his condition deteriorated in the hospital and he was pronounced dead two days after the accident.

Mr. Hossain has worked for Bright Asia Construction for 10 years, and Mr. Sugunan has worked for two years. Their truck driver has worked for the same company for five years and is both the designated driver and the site supervisor.

The immediate family members of the deceased were unable to participate in the post-mortem investigation, but a representative of Bright Asia Construction Company stated that the company had provided assistance within its capacity to the families of both parties.

The coroner said there was no evidence of foul play and expressed condolences to the family of the deceased.

After the accident, the truck driver was arrested for negligent driving and death.

In the next few months, there were calls to stop the practice of transporting foreign workers behind trucks.

Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Transport, stated in Parliament in May that the ministry is reviewing measures to use trucks to transport workers to improve safety.

Source: CNA/ll(rw)