Lorry driver arrested after crashing into trees in front of Jurong HDB block

SINGAPORE - A 32-year-old lorry driver who mowed down two trees in front of an HDB block in Jurong just after midnight on Monday (Nov 16) was arrested for drink driving and careless driving.

After crashing into the trees, the lorry kept moving until it collided with the front of the four-storey block.

The police told The Straits Times they were alerted at 12.29am to the incident at Block 152 Yung Ho Road.

The lorry driver was conscious when he was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, and was subsequently arrested for drink driving and careless driving, they said.

Shin Min Daily News reported that the collision shattered the windscreen of the lorry and smashed flower pots in the vicinity.

A resident who wanted to be known as Ms Atiqah K. lives with her mother on the second floor, right over where the lorry had collided with the building.

She told ST many trailers and heavy vehicles ply Corporation Road next to her block, but "last night was totally different".

"I came home at around 11.30pm and I was in my room. At around 12.30am, it was raining and I heard the lorry outside. There was a braking sound but it sounded different - like the driver was trying to avoid something. I heard tyres skidding."

She heard a loud bang, and when she came out of her house to have a look, saw the vehicle right under her unit, and a tree that had been upended.

Another resident in the same block, Mr Shi Zhong Qian, 75, told ST he saw a huge crowd gathered near the block while he was cycling home from work, shortly after midnight.

Mr Shi, who works as a cleaner at a food centre in Boon Lay, said in Mandarin: "The lorry had crashed into two trees, which fell on the parapet (of the first floor). I saw the driver with the ambulance, and his head was bleeding.

"The area of this accident is on my route home. If I had come home a little earlier, I might have gotten hit."

In response to queries, the police said they were alerted to an accident involving two cars and a bicycle on the service road of 1 Delta Avenue.

The driver was conscious and was taken to Singapore General Hospital.

The driver's son told Shin Min that his father drives on a regular basis, and is unsure of how or why he lost control of the car.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.