Bukit Batok bus collision: SBS Transit driver who was nearly crushed by toppled bus discharged

Bukit Batok bus collision: SBS Transit driver who was nearly crushed by toppled bus discharged
Mr Alias will continue with follow-up appointments with doctors and physiotherapy sessions and is on hospitalisation leave until the end of July.
PHOTO: Facebook/SBS Transit Ltd, Lianhe Zaobao

SINGAPORE - The driver at the centre of the leaked footage of Sunday's (July 11) accident in Bukit Batok bus interchange has been discharged from hospital.

Transport operator SBS Transit, which the driver works for, said in a Facebook post on Thursday that the driver was discharged on Wednesday evening.

The driver, who SBS Transit identified as Mr Alias, suffered spinal and rib injuries.

But he remains in good spirits, the company said.

It added that Mr Alias will continue with follow-up appointments with doctors and physiotherapy sessions and is on hospitalisation leave until the end of July.

SBS Transit also posted photos of its staff visiting Mr Alias at his home on Thursday, adding that they could not visit him while he was hospitalised due to safe distancing rules.

Footage of the incident, which went viral online, shows Mr Alias falling about 2m onto his back during the accident, with a bus barely missing him as it toppled over.

The crash is believed to have occurred when one bus, which was not carrying passengers, was making a turn within the interchange. It collided with the second bus, which was making its way into the interchange with 15 passengers on board.

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As a result of the collision, the second bus smashed through a low fence and landed on its side, on a ramp that serves as an entry and exit point for other buses. This was the bus that landed behind Mr Alias.

The drivers of the two buses are employed by Tower Transit.

The driver who was operating the bus that landed on its side was discharged from hospital with minor injuries, said Tower Transit in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

Mr Mohammad Salleh Mian is now resting at home with his family, it added.

The bus service provider added that Mr Mohammad Salleh was seen immediately attending to his passengers after the accident, and noticed that he was injured himself only a while later.

The third driver involved in the crash, a 65-year-old man who was driving the empty bus, was arrested for a rash act causing grievous hurt, the police said on Monday.

Police investigations are ongoing.

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

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