The loud crash startled him, as it did the other stallholders and customers at the Ramadan bazaar.
Mr Mohamad Sophian, 24, who operates a Ramly burger stall, rushed out to see what had happened.
A crowd had gathered, and although he saw his girlfriend’s wallet on the road, it did not register that something might have happened to her.
It was only when Mr Sophian got closer to the crowd that the horrible truth hit him: A woman was lying in a pool of blood after being hit by a car, and that woman was his girlfriend.
The accident happened at about 8.30pm last Tuesday.
Ms Siti Nurfadariiyah Rosdi, 21, was crossing the road at the junction between Jurong West Avenue 1 and Jurong West Street 41 when a car hit her.
Witnesses said she was flung to the other side of the road and landed head first.
A stall owner’s niece, Nur Fatin Farisha, 15, told The New Paper that the crash was so loud it shocked almost everyone at the bazaar.
She said: “Some of the stalls were already closed by then. Almost all the stallholders ran out of the bazaar and started to form a crowd around her.
“She was near the central road divider when the car hit her.”
Miss Siti suffered multiple injuries and died on the way to the hospital.
The driver, a 41-year-old man, was arrested by the police.
Miss Siti had been on her way to her boyfriend’s stall when she was hit. The student at a private college had been helping her boyfriend’s family at the bazaar every year for the past five years.
Mr Sophian told TNP: “The last thing she said to me was ‘I’ll come back soon’.
“I didn’t expect that was the last time I was going to see her. When I saw her lying in the pool of blood, I almost collapsed.”
He felt her faint pulse for the mere seconds he got to cradle her.
“I was sad and then I got angry. I wanted so much to punch the driver in the face,” said Mr Sophian.
He was restrained by the other stall owners. When TNP visited the stall last Friday, it was closed.
Mr Sophian left small bouquets of flowers on the food case of the burger stall, the road divider where Miss Siti was hit and the tree near the spot where she landed.
“Throughout the five years I was with her, she frequently told me that I never buy her flowers,” Mr Sophian said.
“Now that she’s gone, this is all I can do for her.”
The police said they were alerted to the accident at 9.07pm. Investigations are ongoing.
Miss Siti was taken unconscious to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force.
Miss Siti’s brother, Mr Muhammad Fadiq Rosdi, 27, was also shocked by the news of her death.
The container handling specialist was on his way to meet his friends when he received a call from his younger brother.
“He was sobbing on the phone and kept repeating ‘she is gone’. I didn’t want to believe it until I saw her body (at the scene) with my own eyes,” he told TNP last Friday.
When he arrived, Mr Fadiq saw the driver crouching at the side of the road.
“When the Traffic Police introduced me as the deceased’s brother, he just stood up and walked away,” he said.
“I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eye. I just felt angry every time I looked in his direction,” he said.
The fourth of six children said his family is still trying to cope with the loss of Miss Siti.
“My mother, especially, is still grieving. Both of them were very close, they did a lot of things together,” said Mr Fadiq.
DONATION
A fellow stall owner, Mr Afyque Salleh, 25, was about to close his hair products stall when he saw the accident.
He started collecting donations yesterday to help Miss Siti’s family.
The airport emergency officer took to Facebook to urge members of the public to contribute.
“I lost my brother to a car accident four years ago so I know how it feels to lose a loved one,” he said.
“Since her boyfriend’s family owns the stall just behind mine, she’s a familiar sight at the bazaar. I just wanted to do my part to help.”
For every hair product he sells, he will donate $2 to Miss Siti’s family. As of last night, he had already raised about $600.
Mr Afyque said he will collect donations until the bazaar ends on July 3. Mr Fadiq thanked him for his generosity and urged members of the public who witnessed the accident to come forward.
“I hope we can get justice for her,” said Mr Fadiq.
Stomp, Nur Muhammad Hidayah Kassim, Afyque Salleh, The New Paper
fnawang@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on June 13, 2016.
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