Speeding e-bike rider beats red light and hits pedestrians in Commonwealth

[UPDATE 4.50pm]

An 18-year-old male power-assisted bicycle rider was subsequently arrested on Friday (July 12) for dangerous driving causing hurt, said the police in an updated statement to AsiaOne.

An e-bike rider ran a red light and crashed into two women in Commonwealth on Thursday (July 11).

The police told AsiaOne that it was alerted to a hit-and-run accident involving a power-assisted bicycle (PAB) and two female pedestrians at the junction of Commonwealth Avenue West, towards Commonwealth Avenue Junction, at about 7.25pm.

The women, aged 31 and 33, were taken conscious to the National University Hospital. Police investigations are ongoing.

Dashcam footage of the collision was posted on Facebook group SG Road Vigilante on the same day. 

The video, which is over a minute long, shows the PAB user, who appears to be a food delivery rider, on the leftmost lane and hurtling towards a group of pedestrians crossing the road.

The rider attempts in vain to stop his bicycle with his leg, and ends up ramming into and knocking down two pedestrians, one of whom is in a wheelchair.

The impact also flings the rider and his food delivery bag off the bike. He gets up immediately and picks up his fallen items.

A few other pedestrians, as well as another e-bike rider, are seen assisting the women, helping to gather and move their belongings off the road. Two men standing on the pavement hold on to a folded wheelchair.

One of the pedestrians who was knocked down lies on the road, while the other woman is standing and appears to be hunched over in pain.

'Menace to society': Netizen

Netizens have expressed anger towards the rider, saying that he was careless and could have seriously hurt someone.

"Arrest him. Menace to society," wrote one.

Another comment read: "The shop or person that sold or modified this [PAB] should be fined heavily too. What if one of [the pedestrians] was an elderly person? They are vulnerable and injuries from [the] impact could have been serious."

Some netizens said in the comments that they had seen social media posts claiming that the rider fled the scene shortly after and that the woman in the wheelchair had a serious head injury.

According to the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) rules and guidelines for safe cycling on roads, cyclists and PAB riders must obey all traffic signals and travel in the same direction as the flow of traffic.

They are also required to slow down and look out for other road users when approaching bends, junctions, bus stops and pedestrian crossings or when passing a parked car.

Failure to adhere to the rules may result in prosecutorial action by LTA.

ALSO READ: Flipped on his head: PAB rider gets stuck in drain after accident in Eunos

bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com