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A father in Singapore recently took to social media to call out a food delivery personnel who allegedly hit his young son and rode off on her personal mobility aid (PMA).
The man, who prefers to be known as Shah, claimed that the female food delivery person sped off without checking on the boy or offering an apology.
The boy was injured in the collision.
The woman was subsequently identified by online users.
Even though the woman has since personally apologised to the family, Shah said he still wished to raise awareness on errant delivery riders.
What happened
Speaking to Mothership, Shah shared that he was not present at the time of the accident.
Instead, his wife and two-year-old son were walking along the pavement outside Block 177 Bukit Batok West Avenue 8 on May 4 evening.
Shah said his wife told him that she was walking in front of the son when the woman on her PMA approached from behind the pair.
The pavement, he described, is barely wide enough for two adults to stand side by side.
When the woman rode past on her PMA, she collided into the boy, and the boy "flew quite a bit", he said.
Shah's wife immediately ran to her son, who was "hysterical".
The woman apparently paused for a moment to say that she did not see the boy in her path, and claimed that he had run in front of her vehicle.
According to Shah, she then rode off without apologising to Shah's wife or rendering help to the boy.
"Only when my wife realised there was blood on my son's left eye, then my wife turned around to ask [the PMA user] to stop, but she was already gone," he said.
Woman reached out to father
Shah's son suffered a cut to the area under his eye, and he suspected that his son's head had collided with the front of the PMA.
Photo courtesy of Shah
Angered by the woman's actions, he then wrote a Facebook post, which has since been deleted, appealing for other users' help to identify the woman.
Photo from Shah / FB
Shah said the woman was quickly pinpointed by Facebook users. On the night of the accident, the woman contacted Shah via Facebook messenger.
Screenshots of the conversation Shah shared with Mothership showed that the woman apologised repeatedly.
She claimed that she had apologised to Shah's wife immediately after the collision.
She offered to transfer money to Shah via PayNow for his son's medical bill, and also requested for Shah to take down his Facebook post.
Before it was taken down, the post had accumulated over 500 shares within a day.
Shah insisted for the woman to meet him and his family so that she could apologise to his wife and son in person, which she did. The woman also foot the S$117 medical bill.
He shared that his son has been faring better since the accident, but expressed doubts about whether the scar below his eye would fade.
Photo courtesy of Shah
Urged PMA/PMD users to be mindful
Shah said he considers this issue with the PMA user done and dusted, but hopes that this accident can help raise awareness among both pedestrians and PMA, as well as personal mobility device (PMD) users.
He emphasised the importance of safety, and urged the latter group to be mindful of pedestrians, particularly young children.
He also appealed for these users, including food delivery persons, to slow down while riding, and prioritise pedestrians' safety over rushing to complete orders.
Top photo courtesy of Shah and from Google Maps streetview