Woman dies after being hit, dragged by SBS bus
UPDATED [24 April, 1:20pm, adding more details from media reports]
The wife of a NUS professor died after being hit and dragged by an SBS Transit double-decker bus Tuesday morning.
The accident happened around 7:40 am as bus service 78 was turning into Clementi Avenue 3, according to The Straits Times.
Zhang Hui Rui, 43 is the wife of associate NUS professor, Gong Jiangbin, a researcher in NUS' Department of Physics. The Chinese national was reportedly dragged for about five metres before the bus came to a stop.
Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao reported that her husband immediately broke down when he was at the scene of the accident.
According to another Chinese daily, Lianhe Zaobao, the professor and his wife come from China and live in a condominium near the site of the accident. They have a 10-year-old daughter studying at Nan Hua Primary School.
Police said the 47-year-old Singaporean Chinese driver involved is assisting them in investigations. Zabao reported that the driver's wife said her husband usually does the 156 services route and was supposed to be on leave but took over a shift for the 78 service route for a friend.
In a statement, the Singapore Civil Defence Force said they received an emergency call at 7:43am Tuesday about an incident where a bus had hit a pedestrian along Commonwealth Avenue West.
A female Chinese was pronounced dead at the scene by the fast response paramedic that had been immediately dispatched after the call, SCDF said.
In a statement, SBS Transit senior vice president for corporate communications Tammy Tan said they are assisting the police in their investigations and have suspended the bus captain from driving duties with immediate effect.
"We are very sorry that this has happened and our foremost priority is to get in touch with the family to express our deepest condolences and to render assistance as best we can during this very difficult time," Tan said.
