Passers-by pitch in to help crash victim

One held an umbrella to shade the accident victim from the sun as he lay on the road bleeding.

Another held the IV drip up as the doctor administered first aid.

Yet another called for an ambulance and tried to contact the victim's family to tell them about the accident.

That was the heartwarming scene minutes after a 50-year-old motorcyclist was involved in an accident with a van at about 10am yesterday.

The accident at the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 and Avenue 10 took place right outside the Peace Family Clinic.

Within minutes, Dr Hing Siong Chen, a doctor from the clinic, had rushed to the motorcyclist's aid.

Mr Freddy Low said he was alighting from a bus to go to the clinic when he heard a loud crash behind him. The 72-year-old called The New Paper to inform us about the accident.

Mr Low recounted: "The doctor was really quick to render aid."

Mrs Rina Lim, 39, a clinic assistant who was with Dr Hing, described how people rallied to help the accident victim.

"They couldn't do much, but they did what they could," she said.

This accident was not the first that Dr Hing, 43, has attended to.

"I've helped in other accidents at this junction before, but this is the worst accident I've seen so far," he said.

"We're very lucky to be in this neighbourhood where everyone's willing to help anyone in need."

Dr Hing said the motorcyclist suffered head injuries, multiple open fractures on his left leg, and abrasions on his upper body.

An operationally ready national serviceman, Dr Hing attended a Singapore Armed Forces refresher course on field trauma management last month.

The first aid he administered included applying pressure to, bandaging, and splinting the victim's leg to prevent further blood loss. Dr Hing also administered a drip to stabilise the motorcyclist's condition.

EMERGENCIES

After the ambulance arrived, a passer-by was overheard thanking the doctor for his service, but he said: "Responding to emergencies should always be our priority."

Dr Hing told TNP: "Give the credit to the hard-working medical staff in ambulances and hospitals as they face such emergencies 24/7 and are often forgotten as the real heros.

"My efforts are insignificant when compared to theirs."

When The New Paper arrived at the accident scene at 10.30am, we saw cracks on the van's windscreen and the scattered contents of the motorcycle's top box on the road.

A puddle of blood was by the side of the road where the victim had been treated by the doctor. The police received the call about the accident at about 10am. The victim, a 50-year-old motorcyclist, was taken conscious to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, police said.

This article was first published on April 3, 2015.
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