SINGAPORE - Blood gushed out from her mouth when she tried to speak.
The woman, a pillion rider on a motorcycle, had been thrown onto the rear of the taxi from the impact of a collision between the two vehicles.
Less than a metre away, her companion lay on the ground, his blood quickly forming a puddle. He died in hospital.
A witness, Mr Syed Abdul Muneef, 41, said he and his wife were on a motorcycle heading home from Johor Baru in Malaysia when they came across the accident at Choa Chu Kang Way, opposite the South View LRT Station, at about 2am yesterday.
"I was on my motorbike when I saw the accident on the other side of the road and it looked quite serious. So I made a U-turn further in front to go back to see if I could help," Mr Syed Muneef said.
When he turned his motorbike around, a small crowd had gathered around a silver taxi and a motorcycle that was on its side.
Residents from an HDB block whose units overlook the accident scene said there was a bang that could be heard as high as the fourth storey.
POOL OF BLOOD
Mr Syed thought the accident must have happened just minutes earlier because the emergency services had yet to arrive.
A pool of blood was quickly spreading around the motorcyclist, who was lying on the ground beside the taxi. His female pillion rider was groaning in pain as she lay prone on the rear windscreen and boot of the taxi.
"When I first saw the rider, I thought he was dead. But one of his hands moved and he started groaning in pain," said Mr Syed Muneef.
He said the pillion rider tried to say something, but blood started flowing out of her mouth.
"I told her in Malay not to move or talk and that help would be here soon. She seemed to understand and stopped," he said.
Minutes later, Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedics arrived in two ambulances and took the casualties to the National University Hospital (NUH).
An SCDF spokesman said they received a call at 1.55am and dispatched two ambulances.
The New Paper understands that the motorcyclist is Mr Zhafir Johari, 20. He and the 21-year-old pillion rider were conscious when they were taken to hospital.
The police said that Mr Zhafir died in hospital. The taxi driver is assisting the police in their investigations.
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