Elderly woman dies after accident with lorry in Toa Payoh; driver nabbed for suspected drug offences
Ann Neo
The Straits Times
July 7, 2026
A 73-year-old woman died after an accident involving her personal mobility device (PMD) and a lorry in Toa Payoh on the morning of July 7.
The 34-year-old lorry driver was arrested for dangerous driving causing death and suspected drug-related offences after drug paraphernalia was found in his lorry, the police said in a statement on July 7.
Items believed to be duty-unpaid cigarettes were also found on the man.
The accident, which the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force were alerted to at about 10.15am, occurred on Lorong 6 Toa Payoh towards Lorong 1 Toa Payoh.
The woman was taken unconscious to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where she died, the authorities said.
The suspected drug-related offences have been referred to the Central Narcotics Bureau, and customs-related offences will be referred to Singapore Customs, the police said.
Investigations are ongoing, the police added.
An eyewitness who was at a nearby petrol station when the incident occurred told Chinese-language daily Shin Min Daily News that the victim was thrown into the air after the crash and later seen lying motionless on the ground.
Bystanders were seen rushing over to check on the woman.
The lorry driver was handcuffed and taken away in a police vehicle at about 11am, Shin Min reported.
Road traffic fatalities in Singapore hit a 10-year high in 2025, with 149 people killed that year, compared with 141 in 2016. There were 142 deaths in 2024.
Elderly pedestrian fatalities have also risen, more than doubling from 11 in 2024 to 27 in 2025.
Several traffic accidents reported in the last 16 months have been found to involve the use of drugs.
They include an incident in Punggol in May 2025 when a car driven by a 30-year-old man, who had a female passenger, collided with a bus.
Police officers discovered 42 vapes and more than 1,200 pods in the vehicle, with some containing etomidate. The drug was found in the driver’s and the woman’s blood.
The 28-year-old woman died as a result of the accident.
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