Fatal accident at Alexandra Road: Heartbroken family seeks answers to cleaner's death

The family of a cleaner who died after a taxi ran into her at the junction of Alexandra Road and Jalan Bukit Merah on Friday evening (Mar 22) are devastated and looking for answers.

In an earlier Stomp report, a 72-year-old SMRT taxi driver had ploughed into 66-year-old Madam Teng and another 32-year-old woman at about 7pm on Friday.

The police told Stomp preliminary investigations revealed that the cabby had lost consciousness prior to the accident.

In response to a Stomp media query, SMRT's vice-president of corporate communications, Ms Margaret Teo said that SMRT is extending its full cooperation to the police in their investigations into the accident.

While the other woman has reportedly recovered, Madam Teng died from her injuries in hospital at around 9pm.

Madam Teng's younger daughter, Ms Lim, 30, spoke to The Straits Times (ST) at her mother's wake on Sunday night (Mar 24) and said the accident had left the whole family heartbroken, especially her 64-year-old father.

Ms Lim said that her mother would wait for her two daughters to come home every night before turning in and was extra thoughtful to her husband of 40 years.

"My father is affected the most... Whenever he sees my mother's body at the wake, he would quietly walk away to one side to cry," she said.

Ms Lim said that the family learnt of her mother's death close to midnight and were unable to see her for the last time.

"We're all very devastated," she said, adding that the family now want answers on how the accident happened.

They also have not heard from SMRT since the accident, said Ms Lim, noting that the family have found it hard to believe that representatives from the transport firm have yet to contact them.

"I can't accept it. The whole accident seems so dramatic. I want to know how the investigation is going on," Ms Lim said, adding that the family has been watching and studying videos of the accident taken by other drivers and circulated on social media. 

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https://www.facebook.com/SGRVigilante/videos/2128676987227007/

She said that she hopes to see the video of the accident from the taxi driver's in-car camera.

In response to queries from ST, SMRT's Ms Margaret Teo said: "We have reached out to the family of the deceased on Sunday night. Our priority is their well-being and we shall render all necessary support during this difficult time."