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A coroner's inquiry has found the death of a bus driver to be a traffic-related misadventure.

The driver passed away after his bus collided with a tree on Oct. 9, 2022.

The inquiry also found no evidence of foul play but could not determine why he lost control of his bus.

Driving back to depot after shift with no passengers

The deceased is Liu Shan Liung, a 55-year-old Singaporean employed by SBS Transit as a bus captain.

According to the state coroner's findings published on Monday (Apr. 10), at the time of the accident, Liu was driving his bus towards Hougang Bus Depot, and there were no passengers on his bus.

While driving along Defu Avenue 1 towards Hougang Avenue 3 at around 2:47am, his bus crashed into a tree right outside the depot entrance.

CCTV reveals bus went on for 100m after driver lost control

According to the Depot's CCTV footage, the bus was turning into the depot when it missed the entrance and drove onto a grass verge along the depot's perimeter fence.

As the bus moved along the grass verge, it hit a road sign and a traffic light camera pole, but continued forward for approximately 100m until it hit the tree.

A security guard stationed at the depot's guard post witnessed the bus drive past him and heard a loud bang soon after.

He immediately called for an ambulance and checked on Liu but found him trapped in the driver's seat.

Stuck in driver's seat

Paramedics rushed to the scene, and Singapore Civil Defence Force rescuers were activated to extricate Liu from the bus.

It took them around an hour to pull him out, but Liu had no signs of life by then, and the paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

An autopsy on Liu confirmed that he died from multiple injuries consistent with a traffic accident.

Nothing abnormal

The pathologist found nothing out of the norm in his blood, urine and stomach contents.

However, the autopsy revealed that Liu's heart had severely occluded arteries, but there was no evidence that he suffered from a medical emergency before the collision.

The bus was also handed over to a technical investigator to determine if there were any mechanical faults.

The investigator found that the engine and tyres were all in serviceable condition, but he could not conduct brake or steering tests. However, a visual inspection of the braking and steering components determined that the parts were generally in good condition.

Thus, the technical inspector did not have any evidence of a mechanical fault that could have contributed to the accident.

Clean traffic record and not suicidal

Police investigators also interviewed Liu's wife, who said he had no disputes with anyone and was not suicidal.

She also said Liu had high blood pressure, but it was under control with medication.

Liu had a clean traffic record.

The police concluded that there was no suspicion of foul play.

State coroner Adam Nakhoda ruled Liu's demise as a traffic misadventure and expressed his sincere condolences to Liu's family for their loss.

Liu is survived by his wife and three school-going children.

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Top image via @izmiey18191 on TikTok & Shin Min Daily News on Facebook