Wedding becomes Funeral

[Osiris]

Feb 11, 2008

Three killed in Dunearn Rd crash

By Teh Joo Lin

 

THE four men had piled into the car for some late-night shopping to transform the rented Hyundai into a bridal car for a wedding in the morning.

But nuptial preparations ended in funeral arrangements for three friends after the car crashed before it reached Mustafa Centre at about 2.20am yesterday.

 

The sole survivor, Mr Mohammad Alif Mohamed Shah, 19, is in critical condition with head injuries in Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

 

His family members returned to the hospital last night to keep vigil after burying his elder brother, Mr Mohammad Khalil Mohamed Shah, in the afternoon.

 

He had died on the spot along with Mr Sunthereswaran Nadesan. Both were 23.

The third fatality was Mr Jaya Kumar Asokan, 27, who died of severe injuries in TTSH within 12 hours of the accident.

 

He was believed to have been behind the wheel of the silver

1.6 litre Hyundai Avante, which crashed along Dunearn Road towards Newton Circus, outside Chancery Court.

 

Police spokesman Stanley Norbert said the driver appeared to have lost control of the car, which skidded, hit a kerb and tree, then landed in the bushes next to a canal.

All four knew each other from the Redhill area.

 

The wedding they were preparing for went ahead as planned at a Hindu temple yesterday at 10am. Missing from the celebrations, however, was the bride's sister, who was the girlfriend of Mr Khalil.

 

She was at his funeral, with henna tattoos for the wedding still on her hands.

The 22-year-old student said Mr Khalil, who recently signed on as a Singapore Armed Forces technician, had gone out at night with his younger brother Alif and two other friends to buy decorations for the rented car.

 

The couple had been together for seven years and had plans to get married in August, she said.

The driver of the car, Mr Jaya Kumar, was also the designated chauffeur for the bridal car, said his brother Suresh Gumar, 21.

 

Mr Jaya Kumar, a bus driver, had asked his mother to iron the clothes he would have worn to the temple. But he never came home. 'He was the son every father would want to have,' said the brother.

 

One of two who died on the spot, Mr Sunthereswaran, had recently completed national service and was thinking of heading overseas for further studies.

 

Car rental company Automobil Leasing declined to comment. But the Hyundai is believed to be only a few months old and in good condition.

 

As all four occupants in yesterday's crash were flung out of the vehicle, some parallels may be drawn with a similarly horrific crash about two weeks ago. Two polytechnic students - who were not belted up - died after the car they were in veered off Old Upper Thomson Road and smashed into a wall of trees.

 

The front-seat passenger and driver, who were both strapped in, survived.

Road fatalities continue to be a concern with 219 deaths last year, up from 190 in 2006.

Anyone with information on the latest crash can call the Traffic Police on 1800-547-1818.

 

 

another reminder to drive safely and go easy on a car you haven't drove before.

One minute you could be having fun with a car, the next minute, no more fun with love ones anymore

 

RIP

[RadX]

I honestly still dun understand the part 'lost control and ...'

 

surely must have been speeding la

[Maersk1]

my thoughts is that they might be speeding and lost control of the car....

 

worst is that 3 precious life has lost...it's must be very hard for the families...

 

R.I.P.

[Boyboy]

i doubt seatbelts were worn. don't think all of them would have been flung out if they had worn them. of course with such impact, survival is doubtful even if they had belted up but it could signal a new trend of not belting up.

[Tarzan666]

tink theres a thread regarding this..

its sad.....wonder why fatalities quite high around that area..

[Sfrtuscani]

when u match a powerful car with an inexperience driver....

[King]

lost control?

more like no wear seat belt

u think life is short.....

young peole all think they are superman,wait due u crash a tree

 

no matter what i make everyone in my car use the seat belt!

Edited February 11, 2008 by King

[Zippaboy]

pass by the area quite often leh.

 

the road is ok.

[Galileo]

could be they were having bachelor's night and the driver's mind gave up by the effect of alcohol....R.I.P..

[Zippaboy]

1.6l Avante is a powerful car?

 

then what about those WRX, EVO, Z4, M3, 350Z , C.TypeR etc?

not even talking abt lambo or ferrari.

[Jkhw73]

Any car can reach dangerous speed...it's just a matter of seconds apart.

[King]

is a 120bhp car...what do u think for a 1.6L

[Falc]

More accidents seem to happen at night nowadays.

 

Less congestion on the roads leading one to speed is one thing, could it be lighting issue also? I have notice some curbs (not expressways) are pretty dim and hard to see.

[Carlover76]

I would say it is the fault of the Electric Power Steering as not many new drivers able to handle light power steering like the Electric Power steering system as one has to take some time to adapt to the power steering.

 

The traditional Hydraulic Power Steering still handles better than the Electric Power Steering.

[Zippaboy]

don't just look at the BHP figures.

 

the power to weight ratio isn't that good.

 

0-100km/hr in 12.2s

http://www.onemotoring.com.sg/publish/cont..._6_a.print.html

 

so Altis, Sunny, old Lancer all powerful cars? since their 0-100km/hr timing are faster.

then what about lotus elise? RX8? Golf GT? all small engine capacity too.

 

even swift sports, some don't say it's a powerful car, more like a sporty car.

[Falc]

Cut off all electricity to the power steering.

[Beng2]

Something new to me. A hydraulic operated power steering can be light or heavy - depending on how much it is set.

 

Electric power steering can give good feel too.

 

However, I agree that Avante's power steering is way too light for my liking.

[Zippaboy]

yes, any cars can go up to dangerous speed.

 

but what is your definition of dangerous speed?

190km/hr? 260km/hr? 300km/hr?

just wondering how long will it take an Avante to reach 190km/hr?

 

however, i don't think it's justified to call Avante a powerful car.