Trapped truck driver rescued in PIE pile-up

Two people, including a child, were seriously injured in a 14-vehicle pile-up on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) during peak hour yesterday evening.

A tipper truck from Malaysia travelling on the Thomson Flyover was involved in a collision with another truck that was filtering from a slip road onto the expressway in the direction of Changi Airport.

The accident at 5.20pm sparked a chain collision of the 14 cars and lorries.

The pile-up caused a huge traffic jam on the expressway leading to the Toa Payoh exit.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it sent two fire engines, three ambulances and three support vehicles to the accident scene.

The driver of one of the trucks was trapped inside his mangled cabin and had to be rescued by SCDF officers with the help of a hydraulic cutter.

He was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) with serious injuries, along with three other victims, who were conscious.

The SCDF said the other seriously injured victim, a young passenger in a lorry, was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

One of the motorists involved in the accident, who wanted to be known only as Mr Kong, suffered minor injuries, but his wife and grandchild had to be sent to the hospital.

He told The New Paper: "We were heading home after fetching my granddaughter from her therapy class in Bukit Timah when the accident happened. It was really bad and everyone was in shock."

Mr Kong, who is in his 60s, said that he had spoken to his granddaughter, who was resting in the hospital, and she sounded fine.

"I was really anxious and concerned for her, but thank God she is fine now," he said.

A motor workshop operator, who wanted to be known as Mr Roy, said two vehicles involved in the collision - a van and a pick-up truck - belong to TBS Construction.

He said the vehicles, which are serviced in Mr Roy's workshop, Teamwork Garage, were being driven by his workers at the time. They were not badly injured.

Mr Roy said that he managed to speak to the driver of the Malaysian truck who told him that he tried to brake but could not stop in time when the other truck came out of the slip road.

"We were heading home after fetching my granddaughter from her therapy class in Bukit Timah when the accident happened. It was really bad and everyone was in shock."

- Mr Kong