Driver jailed for colliding into woman along church driveway, causing multiple fractures

CNA

3 days ago

SINGAPORE: A woman on the way to church with her children hit another woman within the church compound after driving negligently around a bend, pinning the victim's leg under a wheel.
The victim, an unemployed woman with special needs, sustained multiple fractures as a result.
Monica Cara Tew Lai Yee, 46, was sentenced on Thursday (Aug 7) to seven days' jail. She was also banned from driving for two years and ordered to pay the victim compensation of about S$19,600 (S$15,260).
This is the sum the victim incurred in medical bills and related expenses after the impact fractured her elbow and knee and left her with bruises on her face and feet.
The court heard that Tew drove her car to the Church of the Holy Spirit on Upper Thomson Road at about 11am on Aug 18, 2024, to attend a church service.
While navigating the church driveway, she approached a junction marked with a yellow box and prepared to make a right turn.
At the same time, the 46-year-old victim - who had been walking along the driveway - reached the yellow box and stopped.
However, Tew did not see her and proceeded to turn right, colliding with the woman and rolling over her leg.
She quickly alighted to help, along with three nearby church volunteers.
Realising that the victim's leg was still under the wheel, Tew drove the car forward before returning to help the victim, who was bleeding around her mouth and had a swollen leg.
Another two church volunteers, who were doctors, and the victim's father later stepped in to help. Tew remained at the scene until the ambulance arrived.
POST-IMPACT
The victim fractured her elbow and knee and sustained bruises to her feet and face. She also had lacerations on her lip and abrasions over her shin.
Surgery was initially planned for her fractured knee but later cancelled due to high operative risk. It was conservatively managed instead and placed in a cast followed by a brace.
A medical report dated May this year stated that the victim had intermittent left knee pain while walking. She said she could walk at home without aids, but required a trolley when walking outside.
She still attends physiotherapy regularly, and her parents said her day-to-day function is still limited as she requires assistance for daily living.
In all, she was on hospitalisation leave for 339 days.
In December 2024, Tew informed the police that she was willing to give the victim a sum of S$15,000 as compensation for the expenses incurred up to that point.
Tew pleaded guilty to a charge of causing grievous hurt by a negligent act by failing to keep a proper lookout.
SEVEN PAST SPEEDING VIOLATIONS
The prosecutor sought one to two weeks' jail and a driving ban of two years.
She said the closed-circuit television footage showed Tew's car moving at a "relatively fast speed", in an area where regular human traffic was to be expected.
Church visitors had to walk through the driveway to enter or leave the church compound, so even more care and attention was required when driving in that area, she said.
Tew has seven past speeding violations between 2007 and 2021 and had beaten a red light in 2016.
In mitigation, Mr Terence Seah and Mr Joavan Pereira from JWS Asia Law sought a fine of S$4,000 and a nine-month driving ban.
They said the unfortunate incident occurred while Tew was driving three of her children to church on a Sunday.
Mr Seah said it was difficult for the victim to be seen by drivers as she was walking on a driveway along a bend as opposed to on a pavement or walkway.
As the victim suddenly stopped in her tracks while on the driveway, she remained in a blind spot.
ACCUSED SUFFERS SEVERE GUILT: DEFENCE
Mr Seah said his client has no prior criminal convictions and had not been in any other accidents since obtaining her driving licence in 1997.
This incident was "a one-off indiscretion" that she regrets, he added.
In a police statement in January 2025, Tew said she was "extremely remorseful" over this incident and prayed for the victim's full recovery every day, her lawyers wrote in the mitigation plea.
She has also been harbouring "severe guilt" over the incident and plagued by "intrusive thoughts of the incident and frequent thoughts that she is a horrible person", said the lawyers.
She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in July and has been getting psychiatric treatment.
In sentencing, District Judge Eddy Tham noted that the victim still suffered pain in her knee about eight-and-a-half months after the accident.
He also noted that the speed of the car was travelling "relatively fast" given the fact that Tew was going around a bend, where she would have a shorter reaction time if there was anyone walking around the area.
"I note that she has a far from exemplary driving record, with multiple instances of speeding," said Judge Tham.
However, he acknowledged Tew's remorse in how she stayed back to help the victim and offered compensation.