Jun 7, 2010
Dad sues driver who hit his son
<!-- by line --> By Selina Lum
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<!-- end left side bar --> <!-- story content : start --> THE father of a teenage boy hurt in a traffic accident two years ago has sued the van driver who knocked him down. The case, heard in the High Court on Monday, has been adjourned for written submissions. The boy, who was 13 at the time, has not been named as he is a minor. His medical condition was not brought up at Monday's hearing, which was held only to establish liability for the accident. However, his lawyer Riaz Ali told reporters that based on medical reports by the boy's doctors, the teenager, who is in a secondary school, suffered injuries that have affected his mental capacityand left him with a limp.
The accident took place on the morning of Dec 12, 2008, along Bedok North Avenue 1. The boy did not take the stand to give his account of the crash because he remembers nothing about it. The driver, Mr Yeo Cheng Khoy, 59, represented by Mr Edwin Chua, said it was the boy who hit the side of his van as he ran towards a bus stop. Mr Yeo said he was driving on the left lane of the road at 30kmh and was picking up speed from having stopped earlier at a traffic light.
As his vehicle approached a bus stop, he said he saw someone dash from his right to his left. He hit the brakes, but the person continued running and then collided into the right side of his van. He said the boy hit his head on the windscreen of the van and then fell onto the road. Following the accident, Mr Yeo was charged with careless driving. He contested the charge, defending himself, but was convicted after a one-day trial, fined $800 and barred from driving for four months. Mr Yeo insists the teenager collided into the side of his van and that it was not an accident any driver could have avoided.
