Inconsiderate Drivers Caused An Ambulance To Be Late For One Whole Hour
The accident happened along the North-South expressway, near the Simpang Ampat toll.
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 24 May 2016, 06:06 PM — Updated over 8 years ago
Three Singaporean cars issued investigation notices for emergency lane deaths
The Road Transport Department (RTD) will issue notices to the owners of seven vehicles, including three with Singapore-registered cars, who allegedly blocked an ambulance that was on its way to an accident site near Malacca on the North-South Expressway last weekend.
New Straits Times quoted RTD enforcement division chief Datuk V Valluvan Veloo today as saying that the vehicles were identified via videos sent by the public after the incident, which reportedly led to the deaths of two accident victims.
"We are taking this matter seriously. Some would say that nothing happens when they use the emergency lanes but in this instance two people lost their lives," said Valluvan.
It was reported that if the ambulance had arrived earlier, the two individuals may not have succumbed to their injuries.
themalaymailonline.com
24 MAY: On Sunday, 22 May, a freak accident happened at the North-South expressway, near the Simpang Ampat toll in Alor Gajah
According to a medical officer that was dispatched to the scene, the incident occurred at the North-South expressway, KM228, near Alor Gajah, around 4:30pm on Sunday.
The said officer, Puvan Barthiban, highlighted the events of that fateful evening in a Facebook posting on his timeline on Monday.
A driver that apparently witnessed the incident explained how the accident had occurred in his Facebook post.
A motorcycle had allegedly hit an Iswara parked at the emergency lane and the impact had caused the riders to be thrown in the middle of the highway. Wanting to avoid the riders, a large lorry ended up skidding off the road and was overturned.
The driver mentioned that both the victims were severely injured and needed immediate medical attention.
The status explained how the first emergency-medical team that arrived at the scene had requested for a backup ambulance service.
They were supposed to reach in just 20 minutes but instead it was delayed by 60 minutes. Here's why:
The video posted by Puvan, the medical officer en-route to the accident scene gained more than a million views in less than 24 hours from the time it was posted.
The video shows how the ambulance was stuck waiting for the civilian cars to move from the emergency lane that is designated for emergency situations. The ambulance finally got through thanks to the help of a few motorcyclists that helped to clear the emergency lane.
"Despite the ambulance's siren wailing, road users pretended to be deaf and remained static. This irresponsible behaviour of road users is not the first time experienced by our emergency medical team, but this is the worst scene ever," read the state posted by Puvan which has been shared for more than 16,000 times.
Puvan explained that when he arrived at the scene, about 60 minutes later, the victims were apparently already taken to the hospital by a private ambulance service.
Meanwhile, the driver that claimed to be at the scene when the accident occurred, provided a slighty different account of the events that transpired on Sunday evening
In a Facebook post that has been shared for more than 34,000 times, Mohd Zulhairi Shariff stated that the accident happened around 3:30pm and that the first ambulance only managed to arrive about an hour later to pick up the first victim.
He explained how the journey should have taken no more than 15 minutes but was lengthened due the number of cars on the emergency lane.
The second ambulance along with the fire and rescue department apparently reached around 6pm, almost two hours after the accident.
Zulhairi mentioned that both the victims suffered from head injury and were awake but seemed to be in critical condition.
Zulhairi's Facebook post on the incident stressed how despite their obvious mistake of using the emergency lane, most of the drivers would get away with the "crime"
Disappointed with the irresponsible behaviour of the drivers on the road that day, Zulhairi's status spoke about the dangers of using the emergency lane in sheer impatience and ignorance.
Zulhairi wrote on his Facebook status, "Kepada pembunuh2 sekalian, aku harap korg sedar. Lorong kecemasan meant exactly for times like this. Tapi disebabkan kebangangan korang orang yang tak bersalah jadi mangsa." ("To all murderers, I hope you all realise. Emergency lanes are meant exactly for situations like these, but the innocent become the victims due to your ignorance.")
Puvan on the other hand, expressed his sadness and disappointment over the situation, urging everyone to be more considerate and understand the value of lives
"We want to do our duty, but was helpless at that moment. To all the irresponsible road users who hogged the emergency lane today, just imagine if the victims were our family members or relatives, will you do the same?"
"Every second counts to save a life. May the victims arrive at hospital on time and god bless them," read Puvan's status.