'She lit up the entire space': Mum of girl, 7, killed in Sengkang school bus accident breaks down after inquiry

The mother of a seven-year-old girl killed in a school bus accident at a Sengkang condominium in 2024 said she cries every day, remembering her daughter as a kind, compassionate and loving girl who could light up a room with her smile.

She was speaking to reporters outside the courtroom after the state coroner ruled the incident a “road traffic-related accident” at a coroner’s inquiry on Oct 7.

According to The Straits Times, the accident occurred at about 6.20am on Aug 15, 2024, at The Topiary, a condominium along Fernvale Lane in Sengkang.

The girl, Nivya Rameshwar, was waiting to board a school bus when she was struck by another minibus within the condominium compound. She was taken to hospital but died from her injuries.

High walls and bushes could have obstructed driver’s view

During the Oct 7 hearing, the coroner noted that a wall near the accident site was more than 1.8m tall, while the bushes reached about 1.4m.

These could have obstructed the driver’s view, making it difficult for him to see pedestrians, the coroner said.

Had the wall and bushes been lower, visibility for both drivers and pedestrians would have been much clearer.

The driver, Phua Hak Heong, was arrested on the day of the accident, but has not been charged in court.

Girl’s mother overcome with grief

Shin Min Daily News reported that Nivya’s mother, Neela Kanagasundaram, was overcome with grief while speaking to reporters and had to be helped by family members to sit down.

She had attended the coroner’s inquiry with a photograph of herself and her daughter. Nearly 20 relatives and friends were also present at the hearing.

Speaking to the media outside court afterwards, she choked back tears as she said it was now up to the authorities to decide what needs to be done.

“For myself, every day, I cry... It’s painful,” she added.

To her, Nivya was a kind and loving child who never spoke ill of others. She was also a source of joy to everyone around her.

“Whenever she walked into a room, it was as though she lit up the entire space,” she said.

Girl run over by minibus while waiting for school bus

During an earlier hearing in February 2025, Station Inspector (SI) Jeff Tan, a Traffic Police (TP) investigation officer, told the court what happened on the day of the incident.

According to the domestic helper, Sivakumar Ilavarasi, she had taken Nivya downstairs that morning and asked the girl to wait near a gate while she crossed the road with her school bags.

She told Nivya that she would return to carry her across the road after putting down the bags.

The helper said she looked back while crossing the road and saw Nivya still standing where she had been told to wait.

However, when she placed the bags down and looked back a second time, the girl was no longer there.

After looking around, the helper was horrified to find Nivya lying face down on the ground, covered in blood.

She ran to the girl and cried for help while cradling her. Two residents who heard the commotion quickly called the police.

Bus driver said he did not see girl

Nivya’s father, Rameshwar Khirodhar, heard the screams and rushed downstairs to check on his daughter. Neela, who is a nurse, also hurried to the scene.

The school bus driver involved in the accident, 68-year-old Phua, testified that it was still dark at the time.

He said he had noticed the helper crossing the road and waited for her to make her way across before continuing to drive.

However, he told the court that he did not see Nivya.

The girl was rushed to hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 7.32am that day. The cause of death was severe chest and abdominal trauma.

School bus was travelling at just over 10kmh

The condominium’s management had initially required school buses to pick up and drop off students at a common pickup point.

However, the arrangement was changed after parents complained that the designated point was too far away, forcing their children to wake up five to 10 minutes earlier.

The management subsequently allowed school buses to enter the condominium’s internal roads to pick up and drop off students at individual blocks.

According to Shin Min, the school bus involved in the accident was travelling at just over 10kmh at the time.

Investigations found that the driver was not using his mobile phone when the accident occurred, and there were no records of incoming calls or messages at the time.

The investigating officer said the driver was not subjected to a breathalyser test as there was no indication that he had consumed alcohol before driving.

This article was first published in Stomp . Permission required for reproduction.

2024 年，一名七岁女孩在盛港一处公寓发生的校车事故中丧生。女孩的母亲说，她每天都在哭泣，回忆起女儿是一个善良、富有同情心和充满爱心的女孩，她的笑容能照亮整个房间。

10 月 7 日，州验尸官在验尸官调查中裁定该事件为“与道路交通有关的事故”后，她在法庭外接受了记者的采访。

据《海峡时报》报道，事故发生在 2024 年 8 月 15 日上午 6 点 20 分左右，地点位于盛港 Fernvale Lane 的 The Topiary 公寓。

女孩尼维娅·拉梅什瓦尔在公寓小区内等候校车时，被另一辆小巴撞倒。她被送往医院，但最终因伤势过重不治身亡。

高墙和灌木丛可能阻挡了驾驶员的视线。

在 10 月 7 日的听证会上，验尸官指出，事故现场附近的一堵墙超过 1.8 米高，而灌木丛的高度约为 1.4 米。

验尸官表示，这些障碍物可能会阻挡驾驶员的视线，使他难以看到行人。

如果围墙和灌木丛矮一些，司机和行人的视线都会好得多。

肇事司机傅学雄在事故当天被捕，但尚未被法院起诉。

女孩的母亲悲痛欲绝

据《新明日报》报道，妮维娅的母亲尼拉·卡纳加桑达拉姆在接受记者采访时悲痛欲绝，不得不由家人搀扶才能坐下。

她带着自己和女儿的合影出席了验尸官的调查听证会。近20位亲友也到场旁听。

庭审结束后，她在法庭外接受媒体采访时，强忍着泪水说，现在该由当局决定该怎么做了。

“我每天都哭……这很痛苦，”她补充道。

在她眼中，妮维娅是个善良可爱的孩子，从不说别人的坏话，也给身边所有人带来了快乐。

“每当她走进房间，就好像照亮了整个空间，”她说。

女孩在等校车时被小巴撞倒

在 2025 年 2 月的一次早期听证会上，交通警察调查员 Jeff Tan 警督向法庭讲述了事发当天的情况。

据家政帮工 Sivakumar Ilavarasi 称，那天早上她把 Nivya 带到楼下，让女孩在门口附近等着，自己则背着书包过马路。

她告诉尼维亚，放下行李后她会回来背她过马路。

这位帮手说，她在过马路时回头看了一眼，发现妮维娅仍然站在被告知要等候的地方。

然而，当她放下包再次回头看时，那个女孩已经不见了。

环顾四周后，帮手惊恐地发现妮维娅脸朝下躺在地上，浑身是血。

她跑到女孩身边，一边抱着她一边哭喊求救。两名听到动静的居民迅速报警。

公交车司机说他没看到女孩。

妮维娅的父亲拉梅什瓦尔·希罗达尔听到尖叫声，立即冲下楼查看女儿的情况。身为护士的妮拉也赶到了现场。

事故中涉及的校车司机，68岁的Phua作证说，事发时天还黑着。

他说他注意到那名帮工正在过马路，便等她过马路后才继续开车。

然而，他告诉法庭，他没有见到妮维娅。

女孩被紧急送往医院，但于当天早上7点32分被宣告死亡。死因是严重的胸部和腹部创伤。

校车当时的行驶速度略高于10公里/小时。

公寓管理处最初要求校车在统一的接送点接送学生。

然而，由于家长们抱怨指定地点太远，迫使孩子们提前五到十分钟起床，因此安排有所改变。

随后，管理方允许校车进入公寓内部道路，在各个楼栋接送学生。

据《新明日报》报道，事故发生时，涉事校车的时速略高于10公里。

调查发现，事故发生时司机并未使用手机，当时也没有任何来电或短信记录。

调查人员表示，由于没有迹象表明司机在驾驶前饮酒，因此没有对其进行酒精测试。

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