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SINGAPORE \u2013 Rena (not her real name) was about to cook dinner when her helper called to say her five-year-old daughter had been run over by a van.<\/p>\n
The accident happened in 2023, when Serene (not her real name) and the helper were on their way home from ballet class one evening.<\/p>\n
The girl was pinned under the vehicle and suffered several injuries, including a severe fracture to her left leg. The helper suffered scrapes and was taken to hospital by Rena\u2019s husband. <\/p>\n
Statistics show that the number of people injured on Singapore\u2019s roads increased from\u00a09,342\u00a0in 2024 to 9,955 in 2025.<\/p>\n
Traffic deaths hit a 10-year high in 2025, with 149 killed,<\/span><\/a> compared with 141 in 2016. There were 142 deaths in 2024.<\/p>\n Given\u00a0the dire situation on the roads, The Straits Times will be running a series of stories in the coming months to call on\u00a0all road users\u00a0to be\u00a0more\u00a0careful.<\/p>\n Rena, who accompanied Serene to hospital in the ambulance, recalled feeling frightened when she saw her daughter closing her eyes. <\/p>\n The 42-year-old, who also has an older son, said: \u201cI had to keep speaking to her to make sure she was not losing consciousness because I didn\u2019t know exactly what injuries she had sustained.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Ivy Ang,\u00a0consultant at the Children\u2019s Emergency, Department of Paediatrics, Khoo Teck Puat \u2013 National University Children\u2019s Medical Institute at the National University Hospital, was one of the doctors involved in Serene\u2019s acute care.\u00a0<\/p>\n Said Dr Ang, who is also the paediatric lead for the National University Centre for Trauma:\u00a0\u201cHer tibia (the shin bone) was clearly deformed, indicating a serious fracture. She was in an awkward position because of the way the van had rolled over her, which made initial assessment more challenging. <\/p>\n \u201cWe administered pain relief and carefully reduced the fracture to improve her comfort. At the same time, we quickly assessed for potentially life-threatening injuries, such as trauma to the brain, spine and internal organs. Fortunately, she did not sustain any of these.\u201d<\/p>\n To secure the shin bone, doctors inserted pins into Serene\u2019s left leg. She was in a wheelchair for two months and underwent six months of physiotherapy. <\/p>\n Caring for her daughter took a mental and emotional toll on Rena, especially when she saw Serene screaming in pain at the hospital when the medicine wore off. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was tiring and mentally exhausting. It took me a long time to recover from this episode,\u201d said Rena, who postponed her job search for six months to care for Serene.<\/p>\n Rena said she would often jolt awake in the middle of the night from nightmares about the accident. To this day, she cannot bear to watch video footage of it. She said Serene does not remember much about the incident.<\/p>\n While they do not discuss it, Rena talks about road safety with Serene, reminding her to keep a lookout for cars before crossing the road.<\/p>\n The police said the accident involving a van driver and two pedestrians occurred at about 7.10pm and that two female pedestrians were taken to hospital. <\/p>\n The 48-year-old van driver is assisting with investigations. <\/p>\n Drawing from her experience in the Children\u2019s Emergency, Dr Ang highlighted two common scenarios that can lead to similar accidents happening. The first involves young children suddenly dashing across the road. <\/p>\n Because of their small stature, they may be harder for motorists to see, particularly when vehicles are turning or during low-light conditions at night, resulting in collisions.<\/p>\n The second scenario involves children crossing in front of large vehicles such as buses. These vehicles can obstruct the view of both the child and oncoming motorists, creating dangerous blind spots that significantly increase the risk of an accident.<\/p>\n In January 2024, a four-year-old girl died after she was run over by a car in River Valley<\/span><\/a>. <\/p>\n