Thursday, June 14, 2012

Tan Tarn How SINGAPORE STUDENT KILLED IN LONDON HIT-AND-RUN ACCIDENT

SINGAPORE STUDENT KILLED IN LONDON HIT-AND-RUN ACCIDENT Bus driver 'thought he had run over a fox'

By Lim Ai Leen, For The Straits Times

LONDON - Driver Shahriar Firouzian told a London court he thought his double-decker bus had run over a fox the night Singaporean student Tan Mingwei was struck and dragged under the vehicle for nearly a kilometre.

Iranian-born Firouzian is standing trial accused of causing Miss Tan Tarn How's death by careless driving nearly two years ago.


Jurors were told in court on Tuesday that in the early hours of Sept 30, 2010, Miss Tan Tarn How was crossing from Fleet Street to Pond Street in Hampstead, north-west London, when she was hit by the bus, which had turned right into Pond Street.

The prosecution contends that Firouzian failed to keep a proper lookout as the student would have been crossing the road in front of the bus. 'He totally fails to see her,' prosecutor Hamish Reid told the court. 'She is caught by the bus and dragged underneath it towards the offside.'

The 52-year-old bus driver continued on his route, unaware that Miss Tan Tarn How's body was trapped under the vehicle, and even stopped to pick up a passenger.

He finished his shift and found out about the accident only the next day.

Passers-by discovered the body of Miss Tan Tarn How, 20, a third-year medical student at Cambridge University, after it came free from the double-decker's undercarriage about 825m from the spot where she was struck.

They called for help, but Miss Tan Tarn How, who suffered multiple injuries, was declared dead at the scene. A shoe and other belongings were found along the route.

Miss Tan Tarn How, whom friends described as joyful, talented and enthusiastic, was the younger daughter of Singapore playwright and senior research fellow Tan Tarn How, 51, and his wife, a dentist.

She had taken a bus to Hampstead that night to pick up some luggage from family friends.

On Tuesday, the court was shown closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from her bus and that driven by Firouzian.

Yesterday, jurors were taken to the accident scene by bus to observe, among other things, the positions of street CCTVs and the view that Firouzian would have had from the driver's seat as he turned into Pond Street.

The court was told that Firouzian had been driving for Metroline since 2003. The London bus company is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro.

UK bus driver denies causing student's death

LONDON - A double-decker bus driver hit Singaporean student Tan Mingwei, 20, and dragged her more than 800m under his vehicle, thinking he had only run over a bottle and a fox, a court in London heard.

Ms Tan, a Cambridge University medical student and the daughter of playwright and academic Tan Tarn How, had just returned from holiday when she was killed by the bus on Sept 30, 2010.

The driver, Shahriar Firouzian, 52, told the police he did not realise he had struck Ms Tan Tarn How and even stopped to pick up a passenger while the student was trapped under the vehicle, a jury was told. He denies causing death by careless driving.

He recalled running over a bottle and a fox on the road, which corresponded to the points at which the pedestrian was hit by, and then eventually dislodged, from the bus, the prosecution alleged.

Ms Tan Tarn How had planned to pick up more luggage from a family friend's house before catching a 6am flight to Rome. But as she crossed Pond Street outside Hampstead's Royal Free Hospital at just after 1.45am, she was hit by a bus with Firouzian at the wheel.

Prosecutor Hamish Reid said Firouzian "totally failed" to see the student as he turned into Pond Street.

Firouzian only discovered Ms Tan Tarn How had been killed the next day. He told the police in a prepared statement: "It was a perfectly normal journey so far as I was aware."

The court heard on Monday that Tan Tarn How's family, who live in Singapore, are unlikely to attend the trial. The case continues.


Bus driver 'thought he had run over a fox'

LONDON - Driver Shahriar Firouzian told a London court he thought his double-decker bus had run over a fox the night Singaporean student Tan Mingwei was struck and dragged under the vehicle for nearly a kilometre.

Iranian-born Firouzian is standing trial accused of causing Miss Tan Tarn How's death by careless driving nearly two years ago.

Jurors were told in court on Tuesday that in the early hours of Sept 30, 2010, Miss Tan Tarn How was crossing from Fleet Road to Pond Street in Hampstead, north-west London, when she was hit by the bus, which had turned right into Pond Street.

The prosecution contends that Firouzian failed to keep a proper lookout as the student would have been crossing the road in front of the bus. 'He totally fails to see her,' prosecutor Hamish Reid told the court. 'She is caught by the bus and dragged underneath it towards the offside.'

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1 comments:

susanmeade said...

what a fatal accident and such a young and innocent girl!:( May her soul rest in peace! The driver who caused the death of student Tan Mingwei by careless driving Toronto should get life in prison, in my opinion. This careless driver must pay for this crime! I'm so scared when I hear about this kind of crashes!

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