Shoe leads man to his friend's bike crash site
He was driving on the Kranji Expressway (KJE)at about 5am on Saturdaywhen something slowed Mr Syahrul Salim down.
There was a familiar shoe on the second lane from the right of the four-lane expressway.
He knew it was his friend's because they had bought similar shoes together.
Mr Syahrul, a 25-year-old warehouse assistant, told The New Paper: "His shoe was right in front of me. It was hard to believe.
"I didn't feel good. I looked at the opposite side and saw a traffic police car."
Mr Syahrul went over and saw Mr Saifuddin Ahmad Rashid's motorcycle on a tow truck, but his friend was nowhere to be seen.
He later found out that an ambulance had taken Mr Saifuddin, who was in critical condition, to the National University Hospital(NUH). He is still in the intensive care unit.
LOST SIGHT OF FRIEND
Earlier in the day, the two friends had planned to go to Johor Baru after Mr Saifuddin's first day of work as a technician.But while travelling together on the KJE towards Woodlands at around 2.30am, Mr Syahrul lost sight of his friend's motorbike.
He said: "When I could not see him any more, I called him and he told me his engine had died. He asked my cousin and me to carry on and he would meet us at a petrol station in JB."
The line was cut off abruptly as Mr Saifuddin's mobile phone went dead.
When Mr Syahrul reached JB, he waited at the petrol station for Mr Saifuddin.
He said: "I called him again, but it went unanswered. I thought he could have gone home to charge his phone."
After waiting for two hours, Mr Syahrul left JB at about 5am and took the KJE towards Jurong, where he lives.
It was then that he spotted the shoe.
While he was trying to figure out what happened, the hospital called him to reach Mr Saifuddin's family members.
He went to Mr Saifuddin's home and took his friend's mother to the hospital.
He said: "He was in A&E when I arrived. He was wheeled straight into the operating theatre."
Mr Saifuddin has undergone at least three operations on his head, eyes and left leg, which is fractured. Another operation to fix his broken right leg is scheduled for today.
Mr Saifuddin's father, Mr Ahmad Rashid Abu Bakar, told TNP in Malay: "My wife went crazy. She couldn't believe what she had heard."
The 53-year-old prime mover driver hopes witnesses will come forward to assist with investigations.
I didn't feel good, so I looked at the opposite side and saw a traffic police car.
- Mr Syahrul Salim, when he saw his friend's shoe on the road
If your vehicle breaks down on the highway...
Here are some tips from Singapore Road Safety Council vice-chairman Gopinath Menon:
l Move the vehicle to the road shoulder and switch on the hazard lights.
l Do not try to repair or change tyres on your own. It is dangerous because some reckless drivers may be travelling illegally on the road shoulders.
l If you have a breakdown triangle sign, leave it on the shoulder.
l Do not stand behind your vehicle to signal to others of the breakdown.
l Go behind the guardrails on the side of the expressway.
l Call 1800-CALL LTA to inform them of the breakdown. If you have no access to a phone, just wait. Mr Menon said the control centre monitors the expressway through cameras. It would send a recovery vehicle when there is a breakdown.
Safety tips are available on LTA's One.Motoring website and the MyTransport.SG mobile app.
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