In what could be the first fatality involving private-hire cars in Singapore, a teenager died following an accident involving her hired Uber car, a lorry and a van on the Seletar Expressway (SLE).
After a night out prawn fishing in Pasir Ris, 18-year-old Goh Pei Ling and her pregnant sister-in-law Chan Qian Jin took an Uber back home in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Misfortune struck on the SLE towards Bukit Timah Expressway, near the Woodlands Avenue 2 exit. Lianhe Wanbao reported that the drivers of a van and a lorry had been in a dispute, and parked their vehicles at the side of the expressway.
It is believed that the 22-year-old Uber driver rammed into the lorry from the back.
According to Chan, she crawled out of the wreck, bleeding badly. However, Goh did not, and the teenager died from her injuries after being taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.
Chan — who is six months pregnant — suffered minor injuries to her face, but her baby is reportedly fine. The fatal accident came just two days after Chan married the teen’s brother on Friday.
“I hope you rest in peace. I’m sorry that I failed to protect you. I’m sorry that I can’t do anything much to help you,” Chan posted on social media in the wake of the tragic incident.
“Uber has been informed about a road accident involving a partner-driver, which resulted in a third-party fatality,” commented a spokesperson for Uber. “Our thoughts go out to the loved ones of the victim. We stand ready to assist local authorities with their investigation.”
Edit: Article updated to include Uber’s statement.
