13 injured in Mt Alvernia shuttle bus crash

SINGAPORE — A minibus that left Mount Alvernia Hospital crashed into a bus stop along Braddell Road around noon on Wednesday (July 26), and 13 people, including the driver, had to be taken to hospital.

The minibus was a free shuttle service provided by the hospital to Bishan MRT Station, and it was ferrying 25 passengers at the time. The hospital had outsourced the shuttle service to bus and rail operator SMRT. 

Responding to TODAY’s queries, SMRT said the service is operated by its subsidiary Bus-Plus Services, and it was an SMRT bus driver at the wheel of the vehicle on Wednesday. 

Bus-Plus Services’ general manager Kelvin Soon said: “We are sorry that this has happened. We are doing our best to get in touch with all the injured parties to provide assistance. We are also helping the police with their investigations.”

The driver and eight of the injured passengers were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), two were taken to Raffles Hospital, and the last two to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said. It despatched four ambulances, two fire engines and one support vehicle to the accident scene on Wednesday.

TODAY understands that all 13 were not seriously hurt. 

The two who were taken to KKH are 26 and 33 years old — both are pregnant and had minor knee injuries. 

Raffles Hospital said the two patients it received have been admitted for observation and are in stable condition. 

A spokesperson from Mount Alvernia Hospital said it does not have exact details on how the accident happened. 

Police investigations are ongoing.

The crash on Wednesday is the latest road accident that made news in less than a week. Last Thursday, three men were taken to hospital after an SBS Transit bus rammed into the motorcycles they were on while they were waiting for the traffic lights to turn green along Pasir Panjang Road. 

A day later, the arm of an excavator smashed into a pedestrian bridge near Balestier Road, which had to be removed because it was in a “dangerous condition”.

Last week, an SBS Transit bus driver was sentenced to 15 months’ jail and fined S$1,000 for drink-driving. 

He was drunk and sipping vodka while ferrying a busload of passengers in June last year.