3 children in accident involving van and car at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6

SINGAPORE - Three children from a special education school were taken to hospital after an accident involving their school van and a car on Thursday (May 9).

The police said they were alerted to the accident along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 towards Marymount Road at 5.50pm.

The children were conscious when taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

There were five people in the van - three students, aged between 10 and 12, from Rainbow Centre, the driver and an attendant.

The two boys and one girl, who all have autism, were wearing seat belts, said a Rainbow Centre spokesman.

The spokesman said that the van had been travelling along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 towards Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 when a car came out from a carpark exit on the left and moved to the extreme right lane which the bus was travelling on.

Pictures of the accident show the front of the black van dented and its windscreen cracked, while the right side of the white car was slightly damaged.

Green railings on the side of the road also appeared to have been knocked down.

The spokesman said that the driver of the van was from the centre's external vendor with many years of experience working with students with special needs.

She added that Singapore Civil Defence Force personnel examined the students and did not find any visible injuries, but took them to the hospital for a thorough check-up in accordance with protocol.

The doctor at the hospital found the students to be well and no treatment or medication was required, said the spokesman.

The students were certified to be well enough to attend school on Friday.

"We are thankful they are well and were not injured," she added.

The students went home with their parents after staying for observation at the hospital for about an hour.

One parent kept her child at home to rest on Friday, while the other two students returned to school on Friday afternoon.

Police are investigating the incident.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.