'My wife screamed until pinky come up': Narrow escape for driver, wife as trunking flies off back of lorry towards car
A car driver and his wife had a narrow escape along the Pan-Island Expressway on the morning of Jan 24, as three unsecured objects – which appear to be cable trunking – flew off the back of a lorry and towards his vehicle.
Mr Toh, 31, an engineer, told Stomp he had very little time to react to the objects flying towards him. "I almost died. My wife screamed until 'pinky come up'," he said, alluding to the panic-attack influencer who said her pinky came up when she was really scared.
"There was no way I could stop as there were cars behind me so I put my arm out if front of my wife, slowed down and tried to avoid the items," recalled Mr Toh, who later realised that the items, which did not hit their car, "seemed to be PVC material or at most thin aluminium".
"But by then, my wife did all the panicking for me," said Mr Toh.
Dash cam footage goes viral
Footage from Mr Toh's dashboard-camera video, posted on Facebook page SGRV ADMIN, quickly went viral, with netizens quick to note that it looked like a scene from the Final Destination movie franchise.
"Oh my God," Mr Toh can be heard exclaiming, before a woman screams as one of the objects appears to land in front of the car. The objects were not secured and it is unclear from the footage whether they were made of PVC or aluminium alloy.
Mr Toh then speeds up alongside the lorry and honks his horn repeatedly before the clip ends. The video has since garnered at least 478,000 views, 2,900 reactions, and 401 comments.
Mr Toh told Stomp that after both drivers stopped at the road shoulder, the lorry driver and his passenger seemed "completely unaware" that the cargo had fallen.
"The lorry driver was confused and somewhat apologetic, though he seemed to be more in a hurry to remove himself from the situation or rush to wherever they had to go," he said, adding that they did not appear to have properly secured the rest of the cargo before driving off.
Mr Toh said he initially wanted to "just forget about it", but was advised by his boss to lodge a police report.
'Final Destination Singapore edition'
Multiple commenters referenced the Final Destination movies, about a group of people who escape impending disaster, only to die in a series of increasingly bizarre accidents.
"Imagine if that metal went (through) the glass and pierce [sic] the driver," said one commenter.
Many seemed amused by the woman's scream. "My heart got (stabbed) by the excruciating scream," said one Facebook user.
"Her screams could have caused an accident!" said another.
"So lucky, I would have screamed as well. This could have been fatal if (the) driver did not manoeuvre his car," yet another said.
Some netizens called on authorities to penalise the driver for failing to secure his load safely. "This is what happens when you secure your load with hopes and prayers," said one.
The offence of failing to secure a load appropriately carries a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine, a jail term of up to three months, or both.
In response to media queries, the police confirmed that it is aware of the incident and investigations are ongoing.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from Mr Toh, as well as a police statement.
