S'pore woman, 65, gets foot trapped under taxi for nearly 30 minutes, says car drove off before she fully got out

Arriving at her destination in Chinatown, a 65-year-old woman was only halfway out of a taxi when the driver set off again, resulting in her foot getting stuck under a wheel.

Her foot was trapped for almost 30 minutes, she told Shin Min Daily News.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the incident at about 10:05am on Jun. 10, they said in response to Mothership's queries.

Upon their arrival, they found a person trapped under a car.

The SCDF extracted the woman's foot using hydraulic rescue equipment and conveyed her to the hospital.

What happened

The woman, surnamed Liang (transliteration), explained that she took a taxi to Keong Saik Road with her sister.

She sat in the back, while her sister sat in the passenger seat.

When they had arrived, the sister got out of the taxi first. Liang had her legs out of the taxi, ready to get out, then turned to reach for her shopping bag on the car seat.

At that time, the taxi suddenly started to move, with the door still open and Liang half-inside the car, and one of the car's back wheels ran over her right foot.

"The driver seemed to not fully understand what just happened, and said he will reverse the car," Liang recalled. "I held back the pain and told him loudly to stop. If the car reversed, wouldn't my foot get run over again?"

Construction workers offered help

While waiting for SCDF to arrive, around six workers from a nearby construction site tried to help Liang by attempting to lift the car, Liang's sister said.

However, the car was too heavy.

The workers even brought a stool for Liang to sit down and rest.

"One of the workers also talked to the taxi driver on our behalf, asking him not to move the car for the time being," the sister added.

As Liang looked dejected, the workers comforted her and told her to wait patiently for help to arrive.

No serious problems

As Liang's foot was jammed under the car wheel for so long, it became numb afterwards, and it was difficult to walk, she told Shin Min.

However, the X-ray results from the hospital, fortunately, showed no serious problems.

Liang thus decided not to pursue the matter further with the driver.

Driver assisting with investigations

In response to Mothership's queries, the police said that they were also alerted to the incident.

They added that the 65-year-old passenger was sent to the hospital, while a 67-year-old taxi driver has been assisting with investigations, which are ongoing.

Liang's sister claimed to Shin Min that after the incident, the driver did not immediately turn off the car engine, only doing so when the two sisters reminded him to.

She also alleged that he stood at the side, smoking, while Liang struggled to get her foot out from under the wheel.