S'porean man, 45, pleads guilty to causing 2024 Tampines collision that killed 2, including TJC student, 17

A Singaporean man, 45, has pleaded guilty to causing a chain collision involving multiple vehicles in 2024 that resulted in the death of two people.

The two people killed were a 17-year-old Temasek Junior College student and a 57-year-old woman.

A gag order has been imposed preventing the identification of any individual under the age of 18.

Muhammad Syafie Bin Ismail showed up to court on Aug. 6 wearing a dark blue shirt with a black mask.

He admitted to driving dangerously in Tampines on Apr. 22, 2024, causing death and hurt to eight others.

First collision

The court heard that Syafie, then 42, had dropped off a Grab Hitch passenger in Bedok prior to the accident that morning.

He had worked the night shift as an operations manager at a global manufacturing company the night before, court documents noted.

After the passenger alighted, Syafie was travelling along Bedok North Avenue 3 at about 7:02am when another car, whose driver later became a witness of the chain collision, overtook him from behind.

This angered Syafie.

After both cars made a right turn into Bedok Reservoir Road towards Tampines Avenue 4, he accelerated to between 99km/h and 104km/h and abruptly overtook the car without signalling.

In the process, the rear left side of Syafie's car collided with the front right side of the other driver's car.

Syafie's car also nearly hit a motorcycle on the right most lane during this manoeuvre.

Second collision

The accused did not stop despite the collision and continued on towards the junction between Tampines Avenue 1 and Tampines Avenue 4 at speeds of between 129km/h and 134km/h.

The speed limit on this road was 50km/h.

Syafie also failed to stop at a traffic light that had been red for at least 26 seconds.

This resulted in a multi-vehicle chain collision involving five other vehicles: Three cars, a van and a minibus.

After the first car was hit by Syafie's car, it spun and hit two other vehicles, then flipped and overturned.

The second car Syafie hit also spun, while the third car mounted a kerb and crashed into a lamppost.

A clip of this series of collisions was play in court.

The court noted that the traffic flow was heavy, the road surface was dry and visibility was clear at this time.

All the traffic lights at this junction were also functioning well.

TJC student died from injuries

In the first car Syafie hit was a 17-year-old student from Temasek Junior College, who was being driven to a school event in Tampines by her father.

The girl's mother and sister had earlier been dropped off at work and school respectively.

After the collision, the girl became trapped under the car while her father drifted in and out of consciousness.

They were later conveyed to Changi General Hospital, where the 17-year-old succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead at about 8:07am.

When the man woke up in hospital, he immediately asked for his daughter and broke down upon hearing of her death, the court heard.

An autopsy of the victim showed that she sustained multiple injuries across her body, including fractures to her skull, neck and ribs.

A victim impact statement indicated that both her parents "suffered greatly following [her] passing".

The girl's mother, in particular, developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MOD).

She thought of dying in the form of a hypothetical illness, and was unable to care for her other daughter or complete house work.

She also described how close she was to her daughter, and how proud she was of her daughter who had aspired to be a doctor, the medical report by a psychiatrist said.

57-year-old woman died

57-year-old Norzihan Juwahib, an employee of a pest control company, also died in the chain collision.

She was riding in a van with her colleagues towards their office in Tampines, when their vehicle was hit by the first car that Syafie collided into.

At the time, Norzihan was seated on a sofa that was bolted to the back of the van, according to court documents.

The sofa did not have any seatbelts.

After the collision, Norzihan was found by her colleagues lying motionless in a prone position, with her head over one end of the sofa.

Both men carried her out of the vehicle and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on her until paramedics arrived.

All three were conveyed to Changi General Hospital, where Norzihan succumbed to her injuries and died at about 7:57am that morning.

An autopsy found that she sustained multiple injuries, including fractures to her neck and ribs.

The other two passengers sustained minor injuries and were discharged from hospital soon after.

Children among those injured

Eight others were also injured, including three 11-year-olds and a seven-year-old.

The seven-year-old and one of the 11-year-olds, a pair of sisters, were travelling to school with their father in the third car that Syafie hit.

After their car crashed into a lamppost, the man checked on his daughters immediately and instructed them to make their way to school on foot as it was nearby.

He was then conveyed to hospital with a neck sprain.

Another 11-year-old, a boy, was riding in the last row of a minibus on his way to school that morning with the bus' driver and a bus attendant.

As they passed through the junction, the minibus was hit by the first car that Syafie collided into.

After coming to a stop, the bus attendant noticed a cut on the right sight of the boy's forehead and attended to him.

The bus driver reportedly remained in shock even after returning home.

She also felt bodily pain in her chest and was later diagnosed with anxiety.

The boy underwent an operation to remove pieces of glass from his forehead and right middle finger.

The third 11-year-old, a boy, was on the way to school with his mother when they were hit by Syafie's car.

He immediately unbuckled his seatbelt to leave the vehicle and ran away to a nearby block of flats, but was later brought back by his mother.

Mother and son were transported to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and KK Women's and Children's Hospital respectively to receive medical attention.

The woman sustained bruises over her chest and abdomen, as well as neck strain.

It was later found that she had a 50 per cent tear in a ligament on her left little finger, among other injuries, which required surgeries.

Her son, meanwhile, sustained minor abrasions that were treated in hospital.

However, about two weeks after the accident, he was brought to see a psychologist after his parents grew concerned about his disturbed sleep and daily nightmares.

The boy would unexpectedly remember the accident while at school, causing him to feel shocked or frightened.

He also grew increasingly paranoid, scared and irritable, and developed an aversion to roads.

The psychologist diagnosed him with PTSD, which was followed by 17 sessions of psychotherapy over months.

Accused arrested and charged

After the crash, Syafie was noted to have remained in his car until a member of the public assisted him out.

He then sat by the road side until authorities arrived, and was conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

He sustained fractures to his ribs and arm, requiring an arm sling, but had no permanent disability.

Upon his discharge, he was arrested.

His driving licence was suspended with immediate effect.

Syafie's sentencing was adjourned to September.

For dangerous driving causing death, he could be jailed for up to eight years and banned from driving for up to 10 years.

For dangerous driving causing grievous hurt, he may be jailed up to five years and banned from driving for up to eight years.

For dangerous driving causing hurt, he could be jailed for up to two years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.