Taxi flips onto its side in accident with car and motorcycle

A passenger climbing out of the boot of a car that has landed on its side could be a scene straight out of a movie. But that was what Customer Care Officer Tan Yong Qiang, 27, found himself doing yesterday morning when a taxi he was riding in got into an accident. "I never thought I would ever have to do such a stunt in my lifetime. I thought it happened only in movies," he told The Straits Times at the scene of the accident. The accident took place around 8:20am and involved an SMRT taxi, a white Volvo and a motorcycle, said Mr. Tan.

He said the taxi had started filtering left from the centre lane of Braddell Road towards Toa Payoh when it collided with the back of the white Volvo. The white car also hit the back of a motorcycle in the left lane of the three-lane road. The motorcyclist, who declined to be named, said he suffered some cuts on his right leg and that he was on his way to work in Toa Payoh when the incident happened. The Volvo driver declined to comment. Mr. Tan said he was in shock when the taxi flipped onto its side. "I didn't really know what was going on, but the taxi uncle was very concerned for me and turned around to ask me if I was all right."

Some passers-by came to help them climb out through the boot, he said. The taxi driver, who had minor cuts on his hands, said he could not comment as his company would be handling the matter. The Singapore Civil Defence Force was alerted to the accident at around 8:30am and sent an ambulance to the scene. It said no one was trapped and that a man in his 20s and two in their 50s refused to be taken to hospital. Mr. Patrick Nathan, SMRT's Vice President for Corporate Information and Communications, said no one was seriously injured in the accident and that the company was assisting with investigations.