Gambas Ave accident: 20-year-old motorcyclist in ICU as family worries about mounting hospital bills

SINGAPORE — The fatal accident at Gambas Avenue on Sunday, which killed a food delivery rider, also left another young motorcyclist, 20-year-old Muhammad Alif Rykell Shah, in a hospital's intensive care unit.

His mother, Madam Sarah Widjaya, 42, told TODAY on Thursday (April 14) that the crash resulted in her son suffering from a crushed left pelvis, broken ribs and wrist, internal bleeding and a hole in his left elbow.

Doctors told her that it would take "many months" before her son would be able to walk again.

Mr Alif was taken conscious to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital after being involved in an accident along Gambas Avenue towards Yishun Avenue 7 at about 1pm on April 10.

The accident killed 24-year-old food delivery rider Jason Tan, who left behind his pregnant wife. 

The police said a 36-year-old van driver was arrested for careless driving causing death.

Mdm Sarah, who took to Facebook on Wednesday to post about her son's condition, said that he had been through three major surgeries in the last three days and is scheduled for another one on Thursday if his condition stabilises. 

The healthcare worker said Mr Alif, the fourth of her five children, is working as a part-time enrolled nurse at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital while waiting to enlist into National Service. Her other four children are aged between 18 and 24.

When the accident happened, he had just left the family’s four-room public housing flat in Woodlands to meet his friends to break fast.

Mdm Sarah said she was heartbroken when witnesses of the accident told her that Mr Alif laid alone on the road after the crash before two people came forward to help. 

“We even viewed (footage of) an in-car camera. Even in such pain, he wanted to stand up and help the other rider.

“That’s him…He always puts others first. This is also why he wanted to become a healthcare worker,” she added. 

CELEBRATED BIRTHDAY A DAY BEFORE ACCIDENT 

The family had also just celebrated Mr Alif’s birthday the day before the accident. 

Mdm Sarah said the accident was a heavy blow to her close-knit family, especially to her youngest daughter, who is the closest to Mr Alif. 

“She has been crying almost every night because she misses her brother…Because he has always been the one who is always there for her,” she said.

Mdm Sarah said that even while he is lying in his hospital bed surrounded by poles holding his pelvis together, he is still worrying about those around him. 

Recalling how she called on the nurses to check on him when he cried or groaned in pain, she said that Mr Alif stopped her.

“He would tell me: ‘Mum, don’t bother the nurses. They have so many other patients to tend to.’ But it really breaks my heart to see him like that,” she said. 

Mr Alif has also asked Mdm Sarah if he will be a burden to the family.

Though she tried to assure him that everything will be okay, Mdm Sarah said the mounting medical bills have been weighing heavily on both her and her husband’s minds.

Her 47-year-old husband works as a delivery driver. 

“We haven’t received the hospital bills yet but (we were told ) that we’re looking at S$60,000 for the three major surgeries,” she said.

Mdm Sarah also worries about how much the final bill will amount to given that Mr Alif may need plenty more surgeries, rehabilitation and therapy sessions.

She added that she might turn to crowdfunding and may have to give up her job if he requires full-time care.

“Right now, he can’t even clear his bowels by himself so I think I might have to take unpaid leave to take care of him full-time.

“There’s no other choice. We cannot afford to pay someone to help,” she added.