An elderly woman died on Friday, March 22 after an SMRT taxi driver overlooked a red light signal and ploughed into pedestrians at the junction of Jalan Bukit Merah and Alexandra Road. The incident also causes serious injuries to another pedestrian.
As per the police, they were alerted to the incident involving a taxi and two pedestrians at around 7 pm, Friday.
After the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived the accident location, the 72-year-old taxi driver and two unnamed female pedestrians, aged 32 and 66, were taken to National University Hospital via three ambulances. But during the treatment, the elderly woman died due to the injuries.
A video of the incident was uploaded online that showed the taxi with the registration number SHC4495T, was on the second lane. The video showed that there were no vehicles between the taxi and the traffic light and the driver's window was rolled down.
The dashboard camera footage also showed that the taxi slid into the first lane, where it approached a stationary car and took a fast turn to the right into the coming traffic at the Jalan Bukit Merah and Alexandra Road junction.
Soon after taking the right turn the taxi ploughed into the crowd of pedestrians, who were crossing the road.
As per the police, after conducting an initial investigation they found that the driver of the SMRT taxi had lost consciousness just before the accident. He is currently assisting the police investigation.
The taxi company stated that they are currently trying to communicate with the victims and their families. In addition, Margaret Teo, vice-president for SMRT Corporate Communications said, "Our immediate priority is the well being of the injured and our care team is trying to get in touch with them and their families to render assistance and support."
"Meanwhile, we are extending our full cooperation to the police in their investigations into the accident," he added.
