Motorcyclist had no time to react before lorry crashed into him

A dramatic video of an accident involving a motorcycle and a lorry has gone viral.

The motorcyclist, who wanted to be known as Jack, had stopped at a carpark gantry on his way home from Toa Payoh Central last Tuesday evening after running some errands.

While he was on his stationary bike at the carpark, a lorry loaded with LPG gas tanks ran into the back of the motorcycle.

Mr Jack, 21, told The New Paper: "I was exiting the car park, waiting for the Electronic Parking System payment exit barrier to open.

"I heard the roar of an engine behind me and turned around to look.

"(But) I had no time to react."

The impact sent the rider and bike crashing to the right. The lorry then smashed through the exit barrier and stopped a short distance away.

Mr Jack, who works part-time in the security industry, crawled off his damaged motorbike and tried to stand. He fell back on the road in pain.

"It was excruciating," he said.

"I thought to myself, 'That's it, my leg is broken'. The whole time I was just praying nothing serious had happened to me."

It was his first accident in two years of riding.

The lorry driver got out of his vehicle and sat on the pavement, said Mr Jack, telling him: "Don't worry about your bike. It can be fixed at the workshop."

He was unapologetic, Mr Jack added.

Passers-by rushed to the biker's aid as he sent his friend an SMS relating what had happened. Mr Jack said: "My friend called me so I passed my phone to one of the men helping me to tell him the location.

"Another man tried to stop the bleeding on my leg by tying a string around (the wound), while a lady held on to me. Someone else also gave me some water to drink."

Mr Yeo Siew Ngee, 44, the owner of a handphone shop near the scene, called an ambulance.

"All I could think of was how I could get help for the young man," said Mr Yeo. He did not witness the accident as he was closing his shop, but turned around immediately when he heard a loud noise.

"(The crash) was so loud that the crowd came to a standstill, then people started running over to help," he said. "There was quite a commotion."

IN A DAZE

Mr Yeo also noticed that the lorry driver seemed unsteady on his feet and had trouble getting up from the pavement: "He looked to be in a daze."

Mr Jack received treatment at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and was placed under observation for a day.

Fortunately, his leg was not broken as initially suspected. There was a cut on his left leg and he now uses crutches to walk.

He has been given 10 days of medical leave until his next appointment on Saturday.

The video of the accident, which was uploaded on the Facebook page of road safety interest group Beh Chia Lor, has received more than 250,000 views since it was posted on Saturday night.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force confirmed they were alerted to the accident at Block 190, Toa Payoh Lorong 6 at around 8.40pm.

Both the motorcyclist and lorry driver were taken conscious to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Police investigations are ongoing.

This article was first published on November 24, 2015.
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