‘She lit up the entire space’: Mum of girl, 7, killed in Sengkang school bus accident breaks down after inquiry
The mother of a seven-year-old girl killed in a school bus accident at a Sengkang condominium in 2024 said she cries every day, remembering her daughter as a kind, compassionate and loving girl who could light up a room with her smile.
She was speaking to reporters outside the courtroom after the state coroner ruled the incident a “road traffic-related accident” at a coroner’s inquiry on Oct 7.
According to The Straits Times, the accident occurred at about 6.20am on Aug 15, 2024, at The Topiary, a condominium along Fernvale Lane in Sengkang.
The girl, Nivya Rameshwar, was waiting to board a school bus when she was struck by another minibus within the condominium compound. She was taken to hospital but died from her injuries.
High walls and bushes could have obstructed driver’s view
During the Oct 7 hearing, the coroner noted that a wall near the accident site was more than 1.8m tall, while the bushes reached about 1.4m.
These could have obstructed the driver’s view, making it difficult for him to see pedestrians, the coroner said.
Had the wall and bushes been lower, visibility for both drivers and pedestrians would have been much clearer.
The driver, Phua Hak Heong, was arrested on the day of the accident, but has not been charged in court.
Girl’s mother overcome with grief
Shin Min Daily News reported that Nivya’s mother, Neela Kanagasundaram, was overcome with grief while speaking to reporters and had to be helped by family members to sit down.
She had attended the coroner’s inquiry with a photograph of herself and her daughter. Nearly 20 relatives and friends were also present at the hearing.
Speaking to the media outside court afterwards, she choked back tears as she said it was now up to the authorities to decide what needs to be done.
“For myself, every day, I cry... It’s painful,” she added.
To her, Nivya was a kind and loving child who never spoke ill of others. She was also a source of joy to everyone around her.
“Whenever she walked into a room, it was as though she lit up the entire space,” she said.
Girl run over by minibus while waiting for school bus
During an earlier hearing in February 2025, Station Inspector (SI) Jeff Tan, a Traffic Police (TP) investigation officer, told the court what happened on the day of the incident.
According to the domestic helper, Sivakumar Ilavarasi, she had taken Nivya downstairs that morning and asked the girl to wait near a gate while she crossed the road with her school bags.
She told Nivya that she would return to carry her across the road after putting down the bags.
The helper said she looked back while crossing the road and saw Nivya still standing where she had been told to wait.
However, when she placed the bags down and looked back a second time, the girl was no longer there.
After looking around, the helper was horrified to find Nivya lying face down on the ground, covered in blood.
She ran to the girl and cried for help while cradling her. Two residents who heard the commotion quickly called the police.
Bus driver said he did not see girl
Nivya’s father, Rameshwar Khirodhar, heard the screams and rushed downstairs to check on his daughter. Neela, who is a nurse, also hurried to the scene.
The school bus driver involved in the accident, 68-year-old Phua, testified that it was still dark at the time.
He said he had noticed the helper crossing the road and waited for her to make her way across before continuing to drive.
However, he told the court that he did not see Nivya.
The girl was rushed to hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 7.32am that day. The cause of death was severe chest and abdominal trauma.
School bus was travelling at just over 10kmh
The condominium’s management had initially required school buses to pick up and drop off students at a common pickup point.
However, the arrangement was changed after parents complained that the designated point was too far away, forcing their children to wake up five to 10 minutes earlier.
The management subsequently allowed school buses to enter the condominium’s internal roads to pick up and drop off students at individual blocks.
According to Shin Min, the school bus involved in the accident was travelling at just over 10kmh at the time.
Investigations found that the driver was not using his mobile phone when the accident occurred, and there were no records of incoming calls or messages at the time.
The investigating officer said the driver was not subjected to a breathalyser test as there was no indication that he had consumed alcohol before driving.
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