Woman dies after taxi drags her for 20m in Ang Mo Kio accident, cabby arrested

David Sun
The Straits Times
June 21, 2022

A woman was killed after she was hit by a taxi and allegedly dragged along the road for about 20m on Monday evening (June 20).

The police were alerted to the incident in Ang Mo Kio Street 21 at around 10.25pm.

The 61-year-old woman, who the police said was a pedestrian, was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic from the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

The 53-year-old driver of a Trans-Cab taxi was arrested for careless driving causing death. Investigations are ongoing.

Chinese evening daily Shin Min Daily News reported that the woman had been dragged for about 20m.

A pool of blood believed to have been close to the point of impact was about 20m away from the blue police tent covering the body on Monday night.

The taxi is believed to have collided with the woman, travelling a distance before making a U-turn when the driver realised that he had hit someone.

He was reportedly in distress at the scene, and his family members had to be called on to calm him down.

Ms Jasmine Tan, general manager of Trans-Cab, told The Straits Times that the driver had reported the incident to the company on Tuesday (June 21).

“We are deeply sorry that this has happened, and our insurance loss adjusters are trying to get in touch with the next of kin to offer our condolences and assistance,” she said.

“Meanwhile, we will be assisting the police in their investigations.”

According to Traffic Police statistics released in February, more people were killed or injured in road accidents last year. This was partially due to Singapore moving towards living with Covid-19 and more activities resuming.

A total of 107 people died on the roads in 2021, compared with 83 in 2020. 

But the Traffic Police stressed that this was still lower than the 118 who died on the roads in 2019.

Fifteen elderly pedestrians died each year in 2021 and 2020.

Jaywalking was the main reason for the fatalities, accounting for about half of the deaths.

Under the Road Traffic Act, those convicted of causing death by driving without due care may be jailed for up to three years and fined up to $10,000.

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