BKE hero: I would help no matter what happens

Twenty-five years ago, a crash near Lentor Avenue left his car in flames.

He opened his door to escape. But the front passenger door was stuck, trapping his wife inside.

No one came to their aid. Fortunately, he managed to pull out his wife in time.

Since that close shave, he vowed to himself that if he were to come across a similar situation, he would step in to help.

His chance came yesterday as he was driving on the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) towards the Pan-Island Expressway at about 1.20pm.

The 53-year-old man, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lim, saw a car and a tipper truck colliding. Almost immediately, flames started shooting out of the car's bonnet.

Mr Lim, who is self-employed, said he stopped about 20m from the accident site. When he got out of his car, he saw that there was a couple inside the burning car.

He told The New Paper: "I shouted to the woman: 'Has anything happened? Can you wake up?' She opened her eyes, but didn't say anything."

He rushed over and managed to pull her out through her window, which had been broken by the tipper truck driver.

He carried her to safety.

Broke windows

The truck driver, who wanted to be known as Mr Yang, 40, said he had got out after the accident to help the people in the car.

When he found that the front doors were jammed, he used a hammer from his truck to smash the front windows.

"I saw there were people inside, so I had to save them," said Mr Yang, who is from Shandong province in China. He has worked here for six years.

He said he was transporting soil to Pasir Panjang when he suspected that one of his tyres had a puncture.

He stopped at the side of the expressway to check and the next thing he knew was that a car had slammed into his truck, he said.

Both Mr Lim and Mr Yang said they were worried that the fire would engulf the car before they could rescue the trapped driver.

"I feared for him. The seat belt appeared stuck and he was unconscious," said Mr Yang.

But rescuing the driver was not easy.

Mr Yang and Mr Lim realised that there was not enough space on the driver's side between the car and the truck to pull him out.

And they could not reach him from the front passenger window.

TNP photojournalist Jonathan Choo, who had stopped after he saw the accident, suggested that they try to reach the driver from the left rear passenger door, which could be opened.

Mr Lim and Mr Yang then crawled into the car from the rear. Supporting the driver under his arms, they pulled him out and carried him to safety.

Explosion

Barely three minutes later, there was an explosion and the entire car was engulfed in flames, Mr Lim said.

The two men said they stayed with the couple until the police arrived. A woman motorist who stopped to comfort the female victim also remained behind.

In the aftermath, both men said they had not thought about their own safety when they rescued the driver from the burning car.

Mr Yang, whose face appeared sooty and his shirt ash-stained, said: "I just knew there were people inside. As long as they are safe, all is well."

Mr Lim, whose hair was slightly singed by the flames, said he felt great satisfaction in helping to save the victims.

"(The 1988 accident) has always been on my mind and I immediately thought of it when I saw the accident. I would help no matter what happens," he said.

A Singapore Civil Defence Force spokesman said a fire engine, a Red Rhino vehicle, two fire bikes and an ambulance were deployed to the scene.

The fire was extinguished with one hose in 10 minutes and the car's occupants, who are believed to be in their 20s, were taken conscious to the National University Hospital.

They did not sustain any burns, but had abrasions and knee and elbow pains from the impact of the accident, the SCDF spokesman said.

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