Why didn't cabby help my parents?
Elderly couple injured after taxi hits them in Tampines. Son claims:
Another errant taxi driver is in the news.
Mr David Pak said a taxi hit his elderly parents while they were crossing the road at Tampines Avenue 2 on Tuesday morning.
Instead of stopping to help them, the driver took out his mobile phone and took photos of the accident scene.
He claimed it took a passer-by to contact the police and ambulance.
Mr Pak, 39, was not at the scene but his father told him what happened.
PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
His father, a 67-year-old part-time cleaner, and mother, 65, a retiree, were on their way to the market after 8am.
Mr Pak said: "My father was accompanying my mother to make sure she was okay because my mother's limbs are still weak from an operation four months ago."
Shin Min Daily News reported that the couple did not use the pedestrian crossing or the overhead bridge near Block 394.
His mother did not have the strength to climb the stairs of the overhead bridge or cover the distance to the crossing, Mr Pak said.
But his father reportedly checked and made sure the traffic light was red and it was safe to cross before they did.
That was when the taxi hit them.
Mr Pak said: "My father told me the taxi driver stopped but was walking up and down just to take photos of the scene.
"Of course I'll be angry and I just want to know why this man didn't help my parents. They are almost 70, how could he not help them?"
He said his mother suffered the brunt of the injuries. Both were taken to Changi General Hospital (CGH). "When I visited my mother at the hospital on Friday, the doctors told me that she has three fractures.
"One on her thigh, her hip and on her ankle. He also said that she will have to be in a wheelchair for quite some time," he added.
BLOOD CLOT
He said his mother was able to undergo surgery only on Friday because of a blood clot in her brain allegedly caused by the accident.
She is still under observation at the hospital while his father, who has a swollen right eye, has been discharged.
A police spokesman said they received a call about the accident at 8.45am and that both victims were conscious when they were taken to the hospital.
Mr Pak has gone online to appeal for witnesses.
On Monday, a Trans-cab driver was accused of not stopping after swiping a jogger at a pedestrian crossing. A video of the accident was posted online.
The accident victim was hit while crossing the junction of Jalan Bukit Merah and Kampong Bahru Road.
Ms Elise Tay sustained head injuries, bruised ribs and cuts on her arms.
Witnesses were later able to identify the taxi driver. Trans-cab is investigating the incident.
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