Turn turtle: One of the photos of the accident that have been making their rounds on social media.
JOHOR BARU: What was supposed to be a normal working day in Singapore turned into a frantic rush to get home for J. Logeswati after learning that her daughter was involved in a school van accident.
The 36-year-old factory operator said she received a call at about 7am yesterday informing her that her 10-year-old daughter, T. Livia, had been rushed to hospital.
“I had just arrived in Singapore for work when I suddenly received a call from the school van operator, informing me that my daughter was involved in an accident.
“I was shaking and confused. I immediately turned back and rushed to Johor Baru to check on my daughter,” she told the media when met at Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) yesterday.
Logeswati said Livia, a pupil of SJKT Jalan Yahya Awal, was asleep inside the school van when the incident occurred.
“She told me she was sleeping and then heard a loud sound. When she woke up, her head had already hit the seat in front of her, and she didn’t know what had happened,” said Logeswati, adding that she was still in shock and could only think of her daughter.
She said the accident caused her daughter, the youngest of her five children, to suffer head and body injuries.
“The hospital did an X-ray and found swelling on her neck, cuts on her ears, and multiple injuries across her body,” said Logeswati, whose daughter was one of 16 schoolchildren involved in the accident.
Culprit uncovered: The open manhole is believed to have caused the accident in Jalan Abdul Samad, Johor Baru.
State education and information committee chairman Aznan Tamin, who visited the victims at the hospital, said seven students were warded, six were allowed to return home, while three others were still receiving treatment.
Earlier, Johor Baru South OCPD Asst Comm Raub Selamat said the school van skidded and overturned along Jalan Abdul Samad here at 7.01am while on its way to pick up and drop off students from several schools around Johor Baru.
“The van is believed to have hit an uncovered manhole on the left side of the road, causing the driver to lose control and the vehicle to overturn,” he said in a statement.
He added that 17 victims were on the bus, including the driver, nine male students and seven female students aged between nine and 15.
“Of the 17 victims, 11 sustained minor injuries and were treated in the yellow zone at HSA, while the rest did not suffer any serious injuries,” he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 43(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for careless driving leading to an accident.
“The driver is having his statement recorded to assist in the investigation,” added ACP Raub.
Meanwhile, state works, transportation and infrastructure committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said the open manhole belonged to a utility company.
“They confirmed that no maintenance work had been carried out in the area recently. The condition of the open manhole cover suggests a possible attempt at theft,” he said.
He urged the public to come forward with any information or evidence, such as video recordings, related to the suspected theft attempt.
“Anyone who may have witnessed irresponsible individuals opening the cover and leaving the manhole exposed is urged to come forward to the Johor Baru South district police headquarters to assist with the investigation,” he added.
