Hit by cab when he tries to help

ELECTRIC NEWS

HE'S FLUNG 20M WHEN HIT BY TAXI
Hit by cab when he tries to help
Man left seriously injured while crossing road at PIE accident scene
By Chong Shin Yen

April 04, 2009

HE WAS the kind of person who would go out of his way to help total strangers.

So it came as no surprise that when Mr Samuel Chua Jie Liang saw an
accident on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) on Wednesday, he stopped
his car right there to see if anyone needed help.

But while he was crossing to the road shoulder, he was hit by a taxi
and flung about five car-lengths away.

The irony was, it turned out that no one was injured in the earlier collision.

Mr Chua, 22, suffered serious head and leg injuries, and was rushed to
the Singapore General Hospital.

He was unconscious and remains in the intensive care unit.

His father, who wanted to be known only as Mr Chua, told The New Paper
that doctors have told him to be prepared for the worst.

Mr Chua, a hypnotherapist in his 50s, said: 'It's typical of him
(Samuel). Whenever he sees someone needing help, he never hesitates to
offer a hand.

'I'm proud that I have a considerate and helpful son. But why did this
have to happen to him?'

Samuel has undergone two head operations, each lasting six hours. Both
his legs were also fractured.

The accident happened on the PIE towards Changi Airport, near the Adam
Road exit, around 11.45pm on Wednesday.

Minutes earlier, the police had received a call about a collision
between a car and an SMRT bus.

The car was behind the bus and both vehicles ended up on the second
lane from the right.

Samuel, who was driving his Subaru WRX, stopped his car behind the
accident vehicles on the four-lane expressway.

He then got out and attempted to cross the two lanes on the left, to
the road shoulder where the passengers of the accident vehicles were.

It appeared that Samuel was going over to see if they needed help.

But before he reached the road shoulder, he was hit by an oncoming
taxi. The impact flung him 20m away.

The taxi driver and his passenger were not injured.

A police spokesman said the taxi driver is assisting them in their
investigations.

In bad shape

Mr Chua said the family rushed to the hospital as soon as they got a
call from the police, but Samuel was already in the operation theatre.

Mr Chua saw his son after the six-hour operation.

'He was in bad shape and his head was swollen. (Yesterday) morning,
they operated on him again but his condition has showed little
improvement,' said Mr Chua.

Samuel was also given five packets of blood.

Mr Chua said that before the accident, Samuel had just dropped his
girlfriend at her home. It was not known where he was travelling to
after that.

Said Mr Chua: 'He hasn't woken up but when I held his hand and told
him 'Samuel, Daddy loves you', I could see tears rolling down his
face.

'We are all praying for him.'

Samuel's parents and relatives were keeping vigil at the neuroscience
intensive care unit.

They took turns to see and talk to him, hoping that he would come out
of his coma soon.

Tears welling up in his eyes, Mr Chua said that since young, Samuel
had always been helpful and considerate.

'He would help the elderly cross the road. If he saw beggars on the
street, he would not hesitate to give them money,' said Mr Chua.

'He also never rejected his friends who wanted to borrow money from him.

'At times, he would complain to me that his friends did not return the
money. But the next time, he would gladly lend them money again.'

Mr Chua describes his son as an active and sporty man who likes
swimming and martial arts.

Samuel's maternal uncle, who did not want to be named, added that
since young, Samuel had always enjoyed 'playing the hero' and liked to
stand up for his friends.

Shaking his head, the uncle said: 'He was playing the Good Samaritan
again this time, but this had to happen.'

Mr Chua said that his son had recently completed his national service
and is waiting to be enrolled into a university.

'He hadn't made up his mind which university to go to, but he told me
that he would probably do marketing-related courses,' he said.

Samuel had bought the Subaru two days before the accident. It was his
second car.

He has an elder brother, 25.

Witnesses can call the Traffic Police at 1800-5471818.