Man, 73, dies after being dragged 30m by taxi along North Bridge Road

A man's nightly supper trip at a nearby coffee shop went awry when a taxi hit the man, and then allegedly dragged him for 30m along North Bridge Road.

The 73-year-old man, who used a walking stick, was crossing the four-lane, one-way road on Tuesday (March 30) when the accident happened around 12.40am.

At the scene, he was pronounced dead by a Singapore Civil Defence Force paramedic.

A woman who was working at the coffee shop told Lianhe Wanbao that just before the accident, the man had bought two cups of tea and a slice of bread from her.

Food was seen scattered across the road with a walking stick and a slipper strewn near the accident.

The man would cross the road between 11pm and 1am every night, said a resident of the area who wanted to be known as Lin, 63.

"There is an overhead bridge and pedestrian crossing nearby, but he never used them," Lin told Wanbao, pointing to the bridge – equipped with a lift – about 10m from the accident site, and the pedestrian crossing about 50m away.

"I'm not surprised, because I've seen similar accidents on this road at least 10 times," he added.

The 55-year-old cabby was arrested for careless driving causing death, a police spokesman said.

ComfortDelGro group chief corporate communications officer Tammy Tan told The Straits Times that they have reached out to the victim's family.

"We are deeply saddened that this has happened and have reached out to the deceased's next of kin to convey our condolences and to assist them during this extremely difficult period," she said.

"The cabby's relief driving arrangement has also been terminated with immediate effect and we are assisting the police in their investigations."

Police investigations are ongoing.

mardhiahhaslan@asiaone.com