I thought I was going to die, says driver after tree fell across Tiong Bahru Road

SINGAPORE – As he was driving along Tiong Bahru Road on Friday, Mr Wang saw a big tree to his left tilt before it started crashing down in his path.

“I thought ‘I’m definitely going to die’,” the 22-year-old told Shin Min Daily News, before he floored the accelerator of his father’s black Mercedes-Benz sedan, hoping that the tree would miss the car.

The massive tree fell across the four-lane, two-way road at about 5.30pm, crushing the back half of his car, damaging a sheltered walkway and disrupting 11 bus services. Mr Wang was taken to the hospital by the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

Had Mr Wang – who declined to give his full name – been a second slower, the falling tree would have hit the car right where he was sitting, based on footage taken by the car’s dashboard camera seen by Shin Min.

Mr Wang told the Chinese language newspaper that he felt okay after the accident, but he started trembling while in the hospital for observation when he recalled his near-death experience and could not sleep till 4am on Saturday.

He added that he woke up later that day with neck pain and numbness in his legs, and hope that the authorities will check other old trees along the road to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

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MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC Indranee Rajah said in a Facebook post on Friday night that the tree was cleared 4½ hours after it fell and the roads had been reopened.

The relevant agencies will check the other trees in the area on Saturday as a precaution, she added.

Mr Wang’s father, Mr Wang Wei Ping, told Shin Min that he had bought the second-hand car for $70,000 and had been hoping to sell it to buy a bigger car.

He said he was told by his insurance company that it would be difficult to claim for compensation as the incident was regarded as an act of God.

He added that he is considering claiming for compensation from the authorities.

HDB said on Friday that it is investigating the cause of the incident.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.