Toddler, 3, dies in bus accident at cemetery

Toddler, 3, dies in bus accident at cemetery

SINGAPORE- She was at the cemetery to say her goodbyes to her sister's father-in-law when a second tragedy struck the grieving family on Sunday.

Her three-year-old son was run over by a bus, just metres away from the man's grave at Lim Chu Kang Cemetery.

The toddler died on the spot.

"The coffin was being lowered into the ground when we all heard a loud sound. Everyone turned around, and that was when we saw him under the front left wheel of the bus," a relative told Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao.

The private bus was hired by the family to carry relatives and friends to and from the funeral on Sunday.

More than 50 friends and relatives were there when the accident happened at about 4.15pm.

According to a witness quoted by Wanbao, the mother had been holding her older son, five, with her left hand and her younger one with her right hand to cross the road.

Just a moment before the accident, she let go of the younger boy's hand to attend to the older son, who was tying his shoelaces.

Family members believe that when the bus ran over the boy, he died on the spot.

The driver was unaware of what happened until the boy's mother frantically knocked on the bus door and pointed to the wheels, said a witness.

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SCREAMING

When reporters arrived at the scene, the boy's mother was beside herself with grief and crying hysterically: "My baby! My baby!"

The grandfather of the child, a 56-year-old, told Wanbao that he was not there for the funeral and only arrived only after the accident.

"I couldn't be there because of work, but when I heard the bad news, I rushed over immediately," he said.

He described his grandson as lively, and said that the family was devastated by his death.

A police spokesman said the driver of the bus, a 48-year-old, was arrested for causing death due to negligence, and is assisting with investigations.

This is the latest in a number of accidents involving heavy vehicles.

According to Wanbao, police cordoned off the area until 7pm for investigations on the day of the accident.

A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) spokesman said they sent an ambulance to the scene, after receiving a call at 4.16pm.

They pronounced a boy dead at the scene. When contacted yesterday, the extended family of the boy declined to speak to the media.


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