SINGAPORE - After finishing lunch at East Coast Lagoon Food Village on Sunday (June 25), Ms Jodi Lai and her family made their way home, walking towards the Singapore Wake Park.
But what was supposed to be a leisurely stroll on a path used by both cyclists and pedestrians ended terribly, when a fast-moving bicycle crashed into them.
Ms Lai, 36, recalled that she was walking in front of her four-year-old son, with her 36-year-old husband, Mr Andrew Foo, and two-year-old daughter trailing behind them at East Coast Park.
“There is only one lane, where the paths for bicycles and pedestrians merge. We were careful, keeping to the left... My kids were not running about,” Ms Lai, a school counsellor, told The Straits Times on Wednesday.
Turning to her son to take a cup out of his hand, she saw the oncoming cyclist. “He was so fast... he was looking at the side of his bicycle, and by the time he looked up, it was too late. I couldn’t even grab my girl in time to avoid the collision,” said Ms Lai of the accident that left her and her daughter injured.
She fell and hit her head and tailbone; her daughter fell forward, hurting her face, arms and legs. Mr Foo and his son were unscathed.
In a Facebook post about the accident on Tuesday night, Mr Foo said the cyclist was a male Caucasian with blond hair, 1.75m to 1.8m tall, who said he was British and that his name was George.
“The (cyclist) apologised profusely and said that the injuries wouldn’t be too serious. I requested his contact number and told him he needed to be responsible for the matter,” wrote Mr Foo in the post, sharing the contact numbers the man gave him.
“He gave me two numbers... I trusted him (which was a mistake) as my focus back then was to quickly rush my family to hospital for medical attention,” said Mr Foo, a product manager, adding that he was unable to contact the cyclist after the accident.
The Straits Times also tried to contact the cyclist but without success.
Ms Lai said the man who crashed into them was with another cyclist riding ahead of him, but she did not ask this second cyclist for his contact details.
“The friend was pretty much observing what was happening, he didn’t do anything for us,” said Ms Lai.
After the accident, the family returned to their home in Siglap, and Mr Foo drove them to Parkway East Hospital for medical attention.
Ms Lai, who was admitted to the hospital for a night, was given 10 days of hospitalisation leave.
“My tailbone hurts... I cannot bend down, wear my pants properly, carry my child or sit properly,” she told ST.
Her daughter was discharged after being admitted for two nights and went back to nursery on Wednesday. “My daughter is okay to go back to school, but we have to look out for any behaviour out of the ordinary – such as prolonged sleeping and vomiting – and keep her wounds clean and dry,” said Ms Lai.
She added that she thought about keeping her daughter at home but decided to let her go to nursery, to help her move on from the accident.
“I want her to socialise and get over the incident, because she is a bit traumatised. I want her to be out there, so she can distract herself.”
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Mr Foo said in the Facebook post that he had reported the incident to the police and was appealing for eyewitnesses.
The police confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.
In response to queries from ST, Ms Sophianne Araib, group director for parks at the National Parks Board, said the agency is aware of the incident and is in touch with the family.
The incident occurred along a shared path of the park connector at East Coast Park, she said, adding that signs are put up at both ends of it.
“We strongly urge all users of parks and park connectors to be considerate and practise good park user etiquette, such as looking out for other park users.
“Cyclists and personal mobility device users should slow down and give way to pedestrians. This will help to ensure a pleasant park experience for everyone,” she said.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
