BOY HIT BY REVERSING TRUCK IN SIMEI
SHE froze when she received the call yesterday afternoon.
The nurse at Changi General Hospital (CGH) was told her younger son had been hit by a truck just three streets away from where she was tending to patients.
She rushed to the scene.
Her son, Jadon Sim, 8, had been hit by a reversing lorry beside Simei MRT station.
Jadon was crushed by this truck ouutside Simei MRT station. The pool of blood marks where he landed after he was flung back by the spinning wheels. --Picture: KENNETH
He was taken to CGH but died on arrival.
Just before he died, the Changkat Primary School pupil had learnt he came in second in his class - a marked improvement in his grades.
At 7.30am today, he was also supposed to play the recorder on stage with his classmates.
According to an witness, a busker who plays music near the station, the truck had reversed and Jadon, who was behind it, went under its back wheel.
The busker, who gave the police a statement and who declined to be named, had shouted to Jadon: 'Be careful!'
Jadon's aunt was with him. She hit her back against a wall, another witness said.
The busker said the slim and 1.4m-tall Jadon was thrown about 1.5m backwards.
Mr Rosli Md Ghazali, 42, a badminton coach, saw Jadon lying chest-down in a pool of blood after the accident. He said: 'His face was gone. One side was crushed.'
The police received a call at 3.15pm about the accident.
A military medic who was at the scene ran to a clinic nearby to get a doctor.
Some members of the public also alerted Jadon's school, which is a stone's throw away. The principal, vice-principal, operations manager and administration manager rushed to the scene. Jadon's form teacher, Mrs Doris Goh, 57, arrived shortly after.
Jadon was taken to CGH minutes later with head injuries.
A police spokesman said the boy was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital at about 4.15pm.
It's a tragic end for the Primary 3 pupil who had much going for him.
At 10am, he was playing on the balancing bar during his PE lesson.
Said Mrs Goh: 'Their PE teacher had a meeting so I took over the class and let them play.'
She added: 'It is unfortunate that such a freak accident happened. I cannot believe I had just waved goodbye to the children when class was dismissed at 1pm after a Maths lesson.'
Jadon had stayed back in school for Chinese remedial lessons till about 2.30pm that day and his aunt had picked him up.
Mrs Goh said they had walked for about five minutes to buy popiah for his grandmother, who lives nearby. Jadon goes there after school every day.
Colleagues of Jadon's mother rallied around her at the hospital. Her pink uniform was stained with blood.
Jadon's father also rushed down from his office in Seletar. He was crying: 'My baby, my baby.'
Mrs Goh said: 'His aunt kept reproaching herself. It was heart-wrenching.'
When The New Paper approached Jadon's elder brother outside their grandmother's flat last night, the boy said blankly: 'I'm fine.'
His family members declined to comment.
PRINCIPAL TO BREAK NEWS
Jadon's principal, Mrs Wee-Kwan Liam, said she would break the sad news to Jadon's classmates after the flag-raising ceremony at 7.30am today.
The music performance where Jadon was due to perform has been cancelled.
His form teacher, Chinese teacher and music teacher hugged each other in the primary school after walking back from the hospital.
Four school teachers who are trained to handle emotional distress will observe Jadon's classmates and counsel them counsel if needed.
Mrs Goh said she had planned to nominate Jadon, whom she described as an eager student, as the class monitor. Jadon was already one of two 'Green Ambassadors', who promotes recycling, in his class.
He was a sensible boy.
When the school held a swimming programme for Primary 3 students, Jadon did not sign up because he did not want his grandmother, who is also looking after his younger cousin, to make an extra trip to fetch him from school.
Mrs Goh said: 'The children's report cards were supposed to be given out on Friday. I'm glad I already told him he came in second in class.'
Mr Philip Ho, the school's operations manager, said: 'We make so much effort to ensure no child leaves the gates without being accompanied by an adult. The students are not even allowed to go into the carpark. Yet, this has to happen a few metres away from school.'
