Diner hurt as car slams into Geylang coffee shop
A blue Suzuki Swift crashed into a crowded coffee shop in Geylang yesterday evening, injuring a diner and disrupting two birthday celebrations.
But the shock was not over for diners at the SN City Seafood restaurant at Geylang Lorong 7.
After scrambling out of the way and regaining their composure, they examined the car and saw the driver slumped over the passenger seat.
He appeared to be unconscious, said diners.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force said they received a call at 7.10pm.
Last night's coffee shop crash is the second recent one in the area.
In August, a lorry slammed into an eatery a few streets away at Lorong 13.
No one was injured in that incident.
In last night's crash, Mr Mohamad Faizal, 30, a cargo assistant, was flung about a metre away and injured his left knee. The car then hit a western food stall before coming to a stop.
Mr Mohamad was having dinner with Mr Asri Buhari, 25, and Mr Fadlullah Rapsan, 35, who is self-employed.
Furious, Mr Fadlullah knocked on the glass window of the car but there was no response. Mr Asri then grabbed the detached leg of a table and broke the left rear window of the car.
He told The New Paper: "We kept knocking and knocking on the window but the driver could not wake up. I had no choice but to use a metal stand to smash the window."
Mr Asri then reached in to unlock the door at the front passenger's seat and dragged the still unconscious driver out.
Another diner, engineer Steven Lim, 48, wanted to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation because he thought the driver had suffered a heart attack.
He said: "But I soon realised that he was just drowsy on medication and I left him alone."
The injured man's friends also started scolding the driver for being reckless, and tried to rouse him.
Mr Lim, who was having a birthday celebration, narrowly managed to escape the car.
He said: "Our food had just arrived and we hadn't started eating. My friend at the table saw the car coming and shouted.
"I quickly pulled my friend away. The car was less than 50cm away from us."
The driver, who looked to be in his late 20s, seemed drowsy even when the police arrived.
SCRAMBLE
A worker at the coffee shop, Mr Sun Yu Dong, 42, said many of the diners managed to scramble out of the car's path because it was moving slowly.
The car had also crashed into a table, scattering dishes all over the floor.
The driver was later questioned by the police.
The owner of the restaurant, Ms Michelle Li, 32, rushed over after receiving a call from a worker.
She said: "The coffee shop would normally be very crowded at this hour but it's mostly empty now.
"Some of them left without paying after the accident but we can't blame them. I think we would lose about $800 from selling alcohol alone."
Speaking to TNP over the phone as he was being treated at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Mr Faizal said: "I can't remember much but I'm unable to bend my knee now as it is painful.
"My left knee was already in bad shape because of an old injury."
Mr Faizal was discharged from hospital and received seven days of medical leave. Police investigations are ongoing.
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