‘She had a whole life ahead of her’: Boyfriend mourns Yishun fatal crash victim
www.straitstimes.com
SINGAPORE – One of the last memories Mr Pombuena Kevin Paul Famacion has of his girlfriend is when she sang a love song to him, just a few days before she died in a car accident.
Ms Queenie Leong was on her way home from a birthday party in Bedok when the private-hire car she was in with a friend
crashed into a public bus
at the junction of Yishun Avenue 2 and Yishun Central 1 at about 5.35am on Aug 2.
A photo of the scene showed a silver car at the rear of a Tower Transit bus, its windows shattered and right doors left ajar, as Singapore Civil Defence Force officers attended to the emergency.
Her friend had tried to save Ms Leong, 23, immediately after the accident. Despite fracturing her arm in the accident, she performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until the ambulance arrived at the scene.
Both women and the driver were taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, where Ms Leong eventually died.
The Straits Times visited the wake set up at the void deck of Block 162 Yishun Street 11, where Ms Leong lived. Her father was too distraught to speak but said he wanted to understand how the accident happened.
Ms Leong’s friend had told the family that the driver was allegedly driving erratically before the incident and may have fallen asleep at the wheel.
Several of Ms Leong’s friends were at the wake on Aug 4 to pay their respects, including Mr Pombuena, a polytechnic student.
He said Ms Leong left the party before it ended as she had to pack for her trip to Johor Bahru with her family. They were going there to celebrate her sister’s birthday.
She booked a ride from East Villa at HomeTeamNS Bedok Reservoir at about 5am. Her friend Ong Meiyi shared the ride with her as they live close to each other.
Mr Sir Ludvig Kong, who was at the wake, said he was awakened by a pre-dawn call from Ms Ong, who sounded frantic. “I heard a lot of honking. Meiyi was screaming for help, and she said Queenie was not responding,” said the 22-year-old polytechnic student.
He called Mr Pombuena, who rushed to the hospital with Ms Leong’s family. He said Ms Leong’s heart stopped beating when they got there, and she had to be resuscitated.
Mr Sir Ludvig Kong (left) and Mr Pombuena Kevin Paul Famacion at Ms Leong’s wake in Yishun on Aug 4.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Mr Pombuena, 23, said scans showed there was no blood flow to her brain because of the swelling in her head.
At about 11am, the doctor told Ms Leong’s family that she had only an hour to live.
Mr Pombuena said: “I couldn’t accept it, (and I knew) she was going to fight. But after two hours, I realised her vitals were going down, so I called all her close friends, and we stayed with her until her final moments.”
He said Ms Leong died at about 3pm on Aug 2.
Mr Pombuena told ST that he and Ms Leong were rekindling their relationship when the accident happened. She had visited him at his home a few days before the accident.
“We were just hanging out, and she was singing love songs to me. She told me: ‘This performance is to show you how much I love you.’”
“I just wish I could hear her sing one more time,” said a teary-eyed Mr Pombuena. “She had a great voice.”
Ms Leong’s family and friends held her hands and talked to her in the last hour at the hospital.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Mr Kong, who was with Ms Leong at the hospital in her final moments, had attended the same birthday party.
“It was very sudden, because I was with her less than an hour (before the accident). It felt like a dream when I saw her fighting for her life in the hospital,” said Mr Kong, who was Ms Leong’s co-curricular activity mate.
“She didn’t look like herself, half her face was covered in gauze, and her hair had been shaved off. There were also a lot of cuts and bruises on her body.”
The group of friends and family held her hands and talked to her in the last hour.
“When they turned off the life support machine, and the numbers dropped to zero, everyone started crying,” said Mr Kong, who broke down during the interview.
“We realised we would never be able to talk to her again, see her smile or hear her laughter ever again.”
Mr Pombuena said Ms Leong was a loving and caring person, who got along with everyone she met. “She had a whole life ahead of her – a scholarship and so much more.”
He added that she had planned to travel overseas with her friends over the next two months.
Said Mr Kong: “I will remember her as someone who always answered my calls whenever I needed someone to talk to, her presence was a comfort to all her friends.”
ST understands that the 47-year-old driver remains hospitalised. ST has also contacted the private-hire company.
A Tower Transit spokesman said the bus was stationary and waiting at the traffic lights when the accident happened. There were no passengers on board at the time.
Police investigations are ongoing.
