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54-year-old SBS Transit driver dies after crashing empty bus into tree near Hougang bus depot

SINGAPORE — An SBS Transit driver died in the wee hours of Sunday morning (Oct 9), after the empty bus he was driving crashed into a tree next to his destination in Hougang.

Screenshots from a Facebook post circulating online, showing an SBS Transit bus with a badly cracked windscreen that had crashed into a tree.

Screenshots from a Facebook post circulating online, showing an SBS Transit bus with a badly cracked windscreen that had crashed into a tree.

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SINGAPORE — An SBS Transit driver died in the wee hours of Sunday morning (Oct 9), after the empty bus he was driving crashed into a tree next to his destination in Hougang.

In a statement on Monday, the police said that they were alerted to an accident involving a bus along Defu Avenue 1 towards Hougang Avenue 3 at 2.47am.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that rescue personnel found a person trapped in the driver seat of a bus and extricated him.

The 54-year-old driver was pronounced dead at the scene by its paramedic.

A Facebook post circulating online with photos and a video on the incident show an SBS Transit bus with a badly cracked windscreen crashed into a tree.

SCDF personnel were seen examining the scene of the crash in the video.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, bus operator SBS Transit said that the victim was driving an empty employee bus back to Hougang Depot on Defu Avenue 1 when it went lost control, hitting the tree next to the depot.

Ms Grace Wu, SBS Transit's vice-president for customer experience and communications, said that the company is in close contact with the driver's family during a "very difficult time" and will render all support needed.

“We are deeply saddened by his passing and have extended our heartfelt condolences to his family." 

The company is assisting the police in its investigations, she added. 

In a Facebook post on Monday, Mr Melvin Yong, assistant secretary-general for the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), wrote that he was deeply saddened by the driver's death.

Mr Yong disclosed that the driver was a union representative. 

"He was known to many of us as 阿龙 ('Ah Long') and had been a bus captain with SBS Transit for more than 20 years." 

He added: "I visited the family this afternoon together with our National Transport Workers' union leaders. 'Ah Long' leaves behind his wife and three school-going children." 

Mr Yong also said he had assured the family that the union is working closely with the bus company and will do all they can to support the family during this difficult time.

"We join the family to grieve for the loss of our union brother, who was not just a loving father and husband, but also a respected union leader."

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bus crash SBS Transit Hougang death

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