Re: B.C. finds the Ang Mo Kio Town Council 100% liable for the damages caused by fall
Blast from the past #2.. This is a reminder of why NParks need to take their job seriously....
Tree crushes car, man dies
Driver dies as tree falls on his Honda Freed. The tree was uprooted due to a heavy shower. -AsiaOne
Tue, Jul 20, 2010
AsiaOne
SINGAPORE - A driver was crushed to death by a fallen raintree on Tuesday afternoon.
The incident happened along the junction of Thomson Hills Drive and Yio Chu Kang Road, a spokesperson for the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said.
The tree fell on a Honda Freed and killed the driver, 32-year-old Chua Loong Wai. It is reported that the car was moving at that time.
A microburst, a localized, powerful descending air draft column that produces damaging winds at high speed, had caused the tree to fall. Microbursts are also known to knock down fully grown trees.
The lone driver, who is married for six years and has a three-year-old daughter, was pronounced dead at around 2.50pm.
The SCDF spokesperson said: "We received a call at 2.07pm."
Said the spokesperson: "When we arrived we found that the man had already passed away.
"Two hydraulic spreader cutters were used to extricate the man."
Lianhe Wanbao reported that Mr Chua had set up a website development business with his secondary school friend just last year. He had also recently purchased his Honda Freed.
According to other local reports, another fallen tree had also fell along Upper Thomson Road on Tuesday. The tree blocked all three lanes of the road.
NPark's response
In a statement released by the national agency for maintaining trees, National Parks (NParks), preliminary inspection show that "the tree was uprooted due to severe weather conditions".
NParks also said that the tree was last pruned in January 2010 to reduce the weight of the crown.
Although this unfortunate accident may raise concerns about the safety of trees in Singapore, NParks wanted to assure the public that inspection has been stepped up in the past two months.
Mr Ng Lang, CEO of NParks, said that they are "deeply saddened by the death of Mr Chua" and are currently in touch with the family of the deceased.
Police have classified the case as an unnatural death and are investigating.