Man died of injuries after being thrown forward in bus that braked abruptly to avoid collision: Police witness

SINGAPORE: A 68-year-old man died of his injuries after being thrown forward when an SBS Transit bus he was on braked abruptly to avoid a collision, a coroner’s court heard on Thursday (Mar 10).

Mr Siah Keok Tiang died eight days after the incident on Sep 8, 2021. He was returning home from his dialysis treatment when he fell inside bus 175, which was travelling along North Bridge Road at the time.

His children attended the coroner's inquiry into the circumstances of his death. A Traffic Police investigation officer was the only witness called to the stand when the hearing opened on Thursday.

According to police investigations, Mr Siah left his dialysis centre at Upper Boon Keng Road at about 11.30am and took the bus home. He was preparing to alight at the bus stop in front of Bugis Cube on North Bridge Road when the incident happened.

Camera footage from the bus that day showed that it was travelling in the extreme left lane of North Bridge Road, which was the designated bus lane.

A car was travelling ahead of the bus in the lane to the right of the bus lane. The driver of the car wanted to turn left into Liang Seah Street, and started indicating a left turn before the junction of Tan Quee Lan Street. This was about one street before the left turn into Liang Seah Street.

The footage showed the car slowing down as it neared the bus and the turn. When the bus driver saw the car inching into the bus lane, the bus’ emergency brake was applied to avoid a collision.

Mr Siah, whose seat was at the front of the left side of the bus, was thrown forward when the emergency brake was applied.

Camera footage showed that another passenger seated at the rear left side of the bus was also thrown forward by the force. There was no record of this passenger going to the hospital.

Both vehicles stopped after the incident. Mr Siah was taken to the hospital in a semi-conscious state, and was admitted as he had sustained head injuries. His condition deteriorated, and he died on Sep 16, 2021.

An autopsy report gave Mr Siah's cause of death as ischaemic heart disease with multi-organ failure and the contributory cause of head injury. The death was classified as unnatural, with injuries consistent with those sustained from a road traffic accident.

NO SPEEDING, FILTERING INTO BUS LANE WAS LEGAL

There was no evidence that either vehicle was speeding, said the investigation officer. Camera footage from the bus showed that it was travelling at 35kmh to 45kmh, although State Coroner Adam Nakhoda qualified that this was an estimate. The speed limit was 50 kmh.

The court also heard that the car was trying to filter in at a portion of the bus lane where there were dotted lines, which is where vehicles are allowed to filter in or out of lanes.

According to the investigation officer, the bus driver said he was looking ahead while driving and did not notice the car until it started to encroach into his lane, which was when he applied the brake.

Both drivers held valid driving licences at the time of the incident. 

Mr Siah’s daughter, Ms Siah Hwan Ling, asked the witness questions about how her father landed after his fall, as he suffered extensive injuries to many parts of his body. These included neck injuries and fractured ribs, among others. 

The investigation officer responded that the footage did not show how Mr Siah landed. He said Mr Siah was “partially seated” at the time. He had pressed the bell indicating he wanted to alight and shifted his body towards the edge of the seat.

When the bus braked abruptly, Mr Siah lost his grip on the bus pole he was holding, and was flung towards the front of the bus, the officer said.

Judge Nakhoda called for a further report from the forensic pathologist to clarify the nature of some injuries, including “disruption” to two vertebrae in Mr Siah’s spine and “healing fractures” along his upper back.

According to the police witness, the Traffic Police have not yet made a decision on whether to take further action on this case.