February 14, 2021, 05:49 AM
Five men were killed and one woman seriously injured after a BMW crashed into a vacant shophouse along Tanjong Pagar Road on Feb. 13, 2021, the second day of the Chinese New Year.
The immediate aftermath of the accident at 5:30am resulted in a loud explosion and a fire that originated from the wrecked vehicle.
Commotion heard by nearby residents
A resident, Song Seng Wun, 60, who lives at a nearby HDB flat at Craig Road, left his home to find out what happened.
His first-person account was one of the earliest mentions of the incident on social media.Song, an economist, was subsequently interviewed on camera by The Straits Times.
His candid narration of what he saw can be viewed from the 1-minute-30-second mark:
Eyewitness account
According to him, he saw a woman, believed to be the 26-year-old partner of the BMW driver, bloodied and badly injured.
The eyewitness also claimed he saw another unidentified man, who is believed to be the friend of the victims, screaming hysterically by the road.
Song was likely at the scene after 5:40am, which was the time the Singapore Civil Defence Force was alerted to the fire.
Here's a transcript of what Song said he witnessed:
"By then I saw other neighbours coming down -- we have two blocks of flats here -- walking towards the accident scene. You can see the fire from the middle of the road."
"You can see the fire, see the flame, and hear the popping sounds of explosions, small explosions."
"So, we were on the opposite side, looking at the flame, as the fire engine was obviously there already, and hoses were being hooked up and (the flames were being) doused."
"While that was happening, I saw a young man screaming on the side, 'My friends are inside there! My friends are inside there!'"
via Song Seng Wun
"And he was quite hysterical, held back by the police who had just arrived at that point, a couple of them."
"And he was already screaming and quite agitated."
"I moved further down and then I saw another lady on the side leaning against the shophouse, one of the Korean restaurants."
"I could see that she was quite badly hurt -- can't tell much because it was in the shadows, but can see bloodied arm and bloodied legs."
"You can see that the car has crashed right into the shop because it smacked right into the shutter of the shophouse, which was empty at that point."
"By that time the flames were already raging, there were sounds popping, but it was put out quite quickly."
via ST video
Timeline of crash
5:30am: Witnesses said they heard the roar of a car engine about 10 minutes before a loud crash. Eyewitnesses said a white BMW slammed into a vacant shophouse previously occupied by Five Oars Coffee Roasters.
5:40am: SCDF alerted to the fire. Subsequently, about 200m of Tanjong Pagar Road was cordoned off.
10:30am: Next-of-kin of the victims arrived at the crash site. Two police hearses were spotted.
11:11am: First hearse arrives at Singapore General Hospital mortuary.
via ST video
11:26am: Second hearse arrives at morgue.
2:20pm: Police removes charred BMW using tow truck.
via ST video
3:10am: Police lifted cordons.
Police investigations are ongoing.
Top photos via Song Seng Wun
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