Singaporean tourist, 67, dies 2 days after getting run over by a bus in Taiwan
SINGAPORE: A Singaporean woman who was visiting Taiwan with her family was involved in a bus accident on Wednesday (Sept 16).
The 67-year-old grandmother had been crossing the street in Taichung when she was struck and run over by a bus that was making a right turn. Although emergency responders were able to get her out after she was trapped under the vehicle, she went into out-of-hospital cardiac arrest after her rescue.
Upon her arrival at China Medical University Hospital, she was resuscitated and placed under intensive care.
On Friday morning (Sept 18), however, she passed away because of the severity of her injuries, which included fractures to her hip, upper right arm and lower left leg.
The hospital expressed deep regret at her passing, according to reporting from Taiwan’s Central News Agency.
The accident
The Singaporean woman was in Taiwan with her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter, and several other family members.
Shortly past 11:00 am on Wednesday morning, the woman’s family is said to have crossed the street at the intersection of Ziyou Road and Minsheng Road ahead of her, and she followed them at a fast pace in order to catch up.
After the driver had seen that a group of people were already on the other side of the street, he checked the zebra crossing and, seeing that it was empty of pedestrians, began to move the bus.
He then heard people screaming and, realising that he had hit someone, stopped the vehicle immediately.
The police and paramedics were called, and when they arrived, a lifting airbag and spinal board were used to free her from under the front right tyre of the bus.
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A witness to the incident told the media that the bus had been going very slowly.
The Taichung City Police Department's First Precinct has said that the driver, a 45-year-old man surnamed Gong (龔), was neither under the influence of drugs nor alcohol at the time of the accident.
Mr Gong has also said that he did not hit the woman on purpose. /TISG
Read also: Sparks & smoke on bus from SG to KL; panicked passengers caught on cam