Pedestrian, 79, hit while crossing road in Serangoon & dies, driver gets 150 days' jail

A driver was sentenced to 150 days in jail on Nov. 25 after his car collided with a 79-year-old man in Serangoon in June 2023.

According to court documents, Tan Yee Keong, a 56-year-old Singaporean, was driving near Block 244, Serangoon Avenue 2, and did not notice Wong Kie Choon John crossing the road.

His car collided with Wong, who later died.

What happened

The incident occurred on Jun. 29, 2023 at around 4:29pm.

Tan had driven along the road towards the direction of Upper Serangoon Road, which is part of a two-way road divided by a pedestrian kerb.

There are two lanes on each side of the road, and he was driving on the left lane of the road.

At the same time, Wong was crossing from the opposite side.

He had reached the pedestrian kerb in the middle of the road, before continuing to cross both lanes on Tan's side of

the road.

Tan had failed to notice Wong attempting to cross and only realised when his car collided with the elderly man.

Wong was flung forward from the impact and landed on the road in front of Tan's vehicle.

Court documents also indicated that the weather was "fine", the road surface was dry, the traffic flow was

light, and visibility was clear.

Tan's vehicle was also found to be working normally.

Suffered cardiac arrest, died from multiple injuries

Wong was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital at around 5:06pm on the same day.

He was pronounced dead at 6:43pm after experiencing cardiac arrest and did not respond to resuscitation.

He had also sustained severe traumatic brain injury and multiple rib fractures, which led to the cardiac arrest.

Based on an autopsy, his cause of death was determined to be multiple injuries consistent with those being sustained in a road traffic accident.

Tan's penalty

Tan was charged for driving without due care and attention by failing to keep a proper lookout and colliding into Wong, causing his death.

According to court documents, the prosecution had sought a sentence of six to nine months' jail for Tan and for him to be disqualified from driving for eight years following his release, after he pleaded guilty in the early stages of proceedings.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Yee Jia Rong said that "the degree of carelessness from the accused is substantial".

He noted that Wong had "almost finished crossing four lanes’ worth of road", which would have given Tan "plenty of time" to notice him.

However, he only realised Wong's presence when the collision occurred.

Tan was later sentenced to 150 days' jail, reported CNA.

He was also disqualified from driving for eight years after his release.

Top photos via Google Maps & Mothership