This made my day: Bus captain stops to help 3 accident victims at Tanglin

When he saw smoke coming from an accident involving a badly mangled car and a van, this SBS Transit bus captain did not think twice about stopping his vehicle to help.

With the help of two other passengers, Loh Kang How, who was driving bus service 132 at that time, managed to save three accident victims from further danger, Shin Min Daily News reported. 

The incident happened last Sunday (Oct 23) midnight at the junction of Chatsworth Road and Tanglin Road.

In an interview with the Chinese daily, the 33-year-old Loh shared that he stopped his vehicle after seeing smoke coming from the accident scene.

Fearing that a fire might break out, he ran forward to warn two passengers inside a car of the dire situation, according to the bus driver.

After bringing the car passengers to the side of the road, Loh said that he then went back to assist the trapped driver in the car which was also involved in the accident. 

"Since the door was stuck, I lowered the driver's seat and let him climb to the back and escape through the rear door," he said, adding that two passengers also alighted the bus to help free the trapped van driver.

When the three accident victims were safely accounted for, Loh went back to the bus to notify the control centre, and asked them to call for an ambulance.

The good Samaritan said: "If I did not do anything and the car caught fire, my conscience would not have been cleared.

"After I was able to guarantee everyone's safety, I felt more at ease too."

A Shin Min Daily News reader, who said he witnessed the accident, appreciated the bus captain for getting out of the bus quickly to help those involved in the accident. 

"It's really great that the captain saved three people by himself," he said. 

Responding to AsiaOne's queries on Thursday (Oct 27), the police shared that they were alerted to the accident at 12.12am.

A 50-year-old car driver and a 27-year-old van driver were conveyed conscious to hospital, the police said, while adding that investigations are ongoing.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force told AsiaOne that the men were taken to Singapore General Hospital.

Loh's unselfish act has not gone unnoticed. 

SBS Transit told AsiaOne on Thursday that they are "immensely proud of him" and are looking to recognise him for his public spiritedness and for going beyond his duty to help fellow road users in an emergency. 

Grace Wu, the public transport operator's vice-president of corporate communications, said: "We're so glad bus captain Loh Kang How was at the right place and at the right time. His presence of mind and courage made a difference."

Other bus drivers have gone beyond their duty recently to help others in need.

In August, 26-year-old Tan Wei Fu rushed down from his bus to free an elderly passenger whose hair was caught in the wheel.

The bus driver was one of the 82 transport workers and six transport operators who received awards at the Public Transport Safety and Security Awards Day event, the Straits Times reported then.

Others included a bus driver who stopped a young girl from running across oncoming traffic at the five-lane Marina Boulevard on Jan 16, and a pair of SMRT bus captains who dealt with an electrical fire at Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot in the same month.

chingshijie@asiaone.com