Bus collides with cab, two injured

Driving along Upper Serangoon Road yesterday morning, he got stuck in a jam.

As Mr Lee Hup Kheng, 52, inched forward, he saw what was holding up traffic - a single-deck SMRT bus sporting a large dent on its bumper.

It had collided with a taxi and two people were sent to the hospital because of the crash.

It was a troubling sight for Mr Lee as it was the second accident involving a bus in two days.

The infographics editor of The New Paper said: "Just a day ago, there was a serious bus accident, so it was worrying to see another one."

Mr Lee was referring to the three-bus collision at Changi Road on Thursday, where 28 passengers were injured.

Yesterday at 7.35am, the SMRT bus and a ComfortDelGro taxi collided at the junction of Upper Serangoon Road and Bartley Road. There was no passenger in the taxi while the bus was ferrying 46 commuters.

The 39-year-old male taxi driver and a 74-year-old female bus passenger were injured and taken conscious to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

TNP understands that neither suffered life-threatening injuries.

When TNP visited the accident scene, the taxi had been towed away while the bus was missing its right headlight.

The congestion had eased but traffic remained slow.

Mr Lee recounted: "The jam stretched all the way to Woodleigh MRT station.

"When I drove past, the taxi was no longer there but I could see that the front of the bus was seriously damaged."

The cause of the accident is unclear, but a picture on Twitter shows the taxi and the bus on the one-way road.

Both vehicles were about 10m apart.

The left side of the taxi was badly smashed.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Ms Tammy Tan, ComfortDelGro's group corporate communications officer, said: "Our taxi was not carrying any passengers when the incident took place. We are in touch with our cabby who was given four days MC and we will render assistance as best we can."

INVESTIGATIONS

Mr Patrick Nathan, SMRT's vice-president of corporate information and communications, said: "Our customer relations officer has been in touch with the injured bus passenger and will be rendering the necessary assistance.

"The remaining 45 passengers on board the SMRT bus were safely transferred to the next bus.

"Investigations into the incident are currently being carried out."

Upper Serangoon Road has seen its fair share of accidents recently.

Last month, two people were injured in a taxi-car collision there.

In February, an accident between a tow truck and a car caused the truck to flip onto its side at the same junction.

And 13 people were injured in December last year when an SBS Transit bus hit the back of a ComfortDelgro taxi along the Upper Serangoon stretch.

This article was first published on June 6, 2015.
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