Driver who crashed into tree, splitting car in two and killing his passengers, gets jail

SINGAPORE: A man lost control of his car at high speed and crashed into a tree, splitting the vehicle in two and killing his two passengers.

Ong Wei Long, a 28-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced on Thursday (Sep 4) to two years' jail and banned from driving for 10 years.

He pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving causing death to Mr Tan Bing Quan and Ms Lim Xin Rong Shannon, both 26, by speeding between 116kmh and 140kmh along a slip road from the Central Expressway (CTE) on Aug 11, 2023.

The court heard that Ong had driven his car to fetch his friend, Mr Tan, from his house in Kovan.

The pair went to the gym together, before picking up Mr Tan's girlfriend, Ms Lim. Ms Lim sat in the front seat and Mr Tan sat at the back, with Ong at the wheel.

Past midnight on Aug 11, 2023, Ong drove along CTE towards Seletar Expressway and entered the slip road towards the direction of Seletar West Link.

He lost control of the car while going around the bend and collided with a tree, which was on the right side of the road.

The impact split the chassis of the car in two, with half of the vehicle on lane 1 of the two-lane road and the other half flying to land on another slip road from Tampines Expressway.

A passer-by called the police and an ambulance was dispatched to the scene.

INJURIES FROM THE COLLISION

Mr Tan was found on a grass patch at the side of the car and was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple injuries.

Ms Lim was found unconscious in the front passenger seat and was taken to hospital with severe injuries, including a fracture and lack of oxygen to the brain from traumatic cardiac arrest.

She was pronounced brain dead on Aug 19, 2023, placed on comfort care, and her organs were donated. Her eventual cause of death was certified as cervical spine injury from a motor vehicle collision.

Ong was admitted to the surgical high dependency ward of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and discharged on Aug 29, 2023, to a community hospital for rehabilitation.

His injuries included spine fractures, a dislocated elbow and multiple bruises.

A forensic speed analysis estimated the average speed of the car along the slip road before the accident to be between 116kmh and 140kmh. The speed limit was 50kmh.

Defence lawyer Adrian Wee from Lighthouse Law sought 24 months' jail and a driving ban of 10 years.

Ong has been driving since obtaining his licence in 2016 and has a completely clean driving record with no prior convictions, said the lawyer.

He said Mr Tan was a close friend of his client, and they were secondary school classmates who started going to the gym together a few weeks before the accident.

"The months leading up to the accident was a turning point in our client's life as he had just finished paying off his school and car loans and was looking forward to becoming more financially stable," said Mr Wee.

"He had also started exercising regularly with Mr Tan in the weeks leading up to the accident, whose company he enjoyed."

Mr Wee said they were heading to Seletar Aerospace Drive where they wanted to spend time chatting when the accident occurred.

The car, which he said was a second-hand 26-year-old Honda Civic, collided with the tree sideways, with the front and back of the car being severed completely.

OFFENDER CAN'T RECALL ACCIDENT: LAWYER

Mr Wee said his client is unable to recall the accident at all due to the psychological trauma it caused. His last recollection of that night was of picking Ms Lim up, and his next memory was waking up in the high dependency ward.

He urged the court to consider that Ong has already been "severely punished by having to live with the fact that he has caused the death of his two friends, a burden he must carry for the rest of his life".

"Our client had also himself almost died because of the injuries sustained from the accident, including an aortic dissection, which is a life-threatening emergency, and a broken spine in five places. It is purely fortuitous that he is still alive today," said Mr Wee.

The judge said the facts of the case "are tragic" and granted a deferment of the jail term.

Mr Wee had requested it, stating that the next-of-kin of some parties involved in the accident have made claims against Ong, and he needs time to instruct his other solicitors for those claims.

For dangerous driving causing death, an offender can be jailed between two and eight years and banned from driving for 10 years.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article stated that Ms Lim was pronounced brain dead in August 2025. The year has since been amended to 2023 after the Attorney-General’s Chambers corrected the information provided in court documents.