8 taken to hospital in PIE crashes

Three accidents along the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) on Sunday, within an hour at the same location, resulted in eight people being injured.

The accidents caused a 3km jam, Chinese daily Shin Min Daily News reported yesterday.

Among those injured were a Traffic Police officer and a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedic.

The first accident happened around 11.15am along the PIE heading towards Changi Airport, before the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) exit.

It involved two cars and a tipper truck.

Shin Min Daily News reported yesterday that a silver car spun on the road before colliding with the truck and a white seven-seater SUV.

Due to the force of the impact, the car's hood was crushed and its windshield shattered.

A while later, two motorcycles skidded at the same location in separate accidents.

After the Traffic Police and the SCDF arrived at the scene of the accident, a third car skidded, hitting a 30-year-old Traffic Police officer and a 26-year-old SCDF paramedic who were attending to the earlier accidents.

The two motorcyclists, aged 35 and 37, who were moving their motorbikes away to avoid obstructing traffic, were also hit.

Four people involved in the first accident, aged between 25 and 69, were indirectly injured by the impact of the third accident.

The Land Transport Authority issued a notice around the time of the first accident informing drivers of the accident and reminding them to avoid lanes two and three.

They issued another notice at 11.30am informing drivers that the jam had extended to the BKE exit.

According to police, all eight injured people were taken to hospital. Their condition is not known.

The police have arrested the 44-year-old driver of the third car for rash act causing grievous hurt.

This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.