SINGAPORE – A man died in an accident on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) early on Wednesday (Nov 2) morning.
The accident took place on the expressway towards Changi after the Upper Jurong Road exit at about 1.40am.
The 40-year-old man was driving a Fiat and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
It is not clear if the driver lost control of the car.
Business owner Muhammad Azhari, 32, told The Straits Times that he was on his way home from Johor Baru via the Tuas Checkpoint when he came across the wrecked car.
He posted a photo on Facebook and warned drivers to be careful when driving in the area, which is near the Safti Military Institute.
“Please slow down when travelling along PIE towards Changi, at the dangerous bend under Safti bridge. Especially those travelling on PIE from Tuas Checkpoint,” he wrote at about 3am.
“I assisted in a fatal accident where the railings pierced through the car from the rear, severing the left hand of the driver. Driver passed away on the spot.”
According to photos seen by The Straits Times, a long piece of railing was wedged though the vehicle, and part of the driver’s severed arm was seen on the road, a few metres from the vehicle.
The driver of a car that stopped earlier had called the police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force, Mr Muhammad told The Straits Times.
“I went to check on the driver but he was already motionless. I noticed the railing pierced through the vehicle, with a big piece of it, about 5m long, still inside the car,” he said .
“I believe it could have pierced through from the front bumper right through the rear.”
He and the other driver, who had alerted the police, were unsure if the arm was the driver’s or if there was another person in the car, so they looked through the bushes to make sure no passengers had been flung out of the car.
“As the location was a bend, we used lights from hand phones to warn other oncoming traffic,” he said, adding that a few other drivers stopped to help later.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force sent two fire engines and an ambulance to the scene.
Police investigations are ongoing.
This article was first published on Nov 2, 2016.
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