Pedestrian's body severed into 3 parts after high-speed collision at Bukit Timah, driver gets 11 years' jail
A man was sentenced to 11 years in jail for speeding along Dunearn Road in 2023 and ramming into a 64-year-old pedestrian, whose body was severed into three parts by the impact.
Before the accident, the 46-year-old had reportedly consumed a few glasses of wine at a birthday party. He was later found to have nearly double the legal blood alcohol limit.
His two children, then aged three and four, were also in the car at the time of the accident, reported The Straits Times.
In addition to the jail term, the man was given a $12,000 fine and banned from driving for 15 years.
Man was driving under the influence of alcohol
At about 10am on April 23, 2023, the Australian man, who is a Singapore permanent resident, drove a BMW M3 Coupe to a birthday party along Turf Club Road with his two children — a four-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl.
He had a final drink at around 1.30pm, placed his children in booster seats in the rear of the car, before driving off.
"At that time, he felt lethargic, as he had stayed up during the night to look after his newborn baby," Deputy Public Prosecutor Dillon Kok said.
"To add to that, he had a runny nose and cough, and had taken Cetirizine, an antihistamine, at around 9am in the morning."
Pedestrian's body severed into 3 parts
At about 2pm, 30 minutes after his final drink, the man drove along Dunearn Road towards Bukit Timah Road at an "excessive speed" of between 111kmh and 122kmh. The speed limit for the area was 70kmh.
A 64-year-old retiree was standing by the roadside, less than 100m away from an overhead bridge, and was making his way across the road.
The driver did not notice the victim and the car "barrelled into him from his right with great impact", DPP Kok noted.
According to a report by Lianhe Zaobao, the force of the impact threw the victim's body in the air and severed it into three.
His upper body smashed through the windscreen and landed on the driver's legs, while his lower body and forearm were flung into the road.
The car continued travelling for about 30m before coming to a stop by the roadside.
Man previously convicted in 2015
The man was arrested for dangerous driving causing death, after failing a preliminary breath test. A blood sample showed that he had 145mg of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
The man's three-year-old daughter suffered an abrasion on the scalp, while his four-year-old son complained of abdominal pain.
On Feb 2, he pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving causing death and another charge of repeat drink driving — he had a prior conviction in January 2015, which had resulted in a S$3,000 fine.
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