Girl, 7, who died after being hit by school bus might not have been visible to oncoming traffic: Coroner

Speaking to the media after the hearing, Nivya Rameshwar's mother said: "It's painful, it's something that could've been prevented."

The late Nivya Rameshwar pictured with her mother at the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, in June 2024. (Photo: Courtesy of Neela Kanagasundaram)

This audio is generated by an AI tool.

SINGAPORE: A seven-year-old girl who died after being hit by a school bus in a Sengkang condominium might not have been visible to oncoming traffic, a coroner's court said on Wednesday (Oct 7).

This was because of a tall wall and a 1.4m-high bush at a passageway leading to the service road where she was hit.

The court also heard that school buses had been allowed to use the service road to pick up students after parents voted in favour of the arrangement.

Previously, school buses used a pick-up and drop-off point near the main gate of The Topiary in Sengkang. The change was made after parents gave feedback that the drop-off point was too far and they had to wake their children up five to 10 minutes earlier.

Nivya Rameshwar, a Singaporean in Primary 2, was waiting for her school bus at the service road at The Topiary in Sengkang on the morning of Aug 15, 2024.

Her maid had crossed the road to place some bags while waiting for Nivya's bus. She was going to return for her when Nivya was struck by another school bus that was there to pick up another child.

When the maid saw the girl covered in blood, she cradled the girl and cried so loudly that two other residents called for help.

The driver of the minivan, Mr Phua Hak Heong, testified that it was dark shortly after 6am that day.

He also said he was looking at the maid as she crossed the road and did not notice Nivya.

State Coroner Adam Nakhoda on Wednesday found that Nivya died from injuries sustained in a road traffic-related accident. There was no foul play.

He stressed that the coroner's court does not establish liability and it was not for the court to determine if Mr Phua had maintained a proper lookout, been distracted or driven rashly.

Mr Phua has not been charged thus far over the incident.

He had told the court that he was driving at "10 plus" kmh, but below 20kmh, along the service road that day.

The investigation officer had said that the road was within a private estate, so there was no official speed limit.

However, the court heard that a condominium bylaw set the speed limit within its premises at 15kmh.

Mr Phua was not late for his pick-up at the condominium, and said he was not using his phone.

A check of his device showed no calls or messages around the time of the incident.

No breathalyser test was done on him because there were no signs that he had taken alcohol prior to driving, the investigation officer said.

Mr Nakhoda noted that the wall near the accident location was more than 1.8m tall, while the bush was 1.4m high.

This would mean that it was possible that a person waiting to cross the service road might not be seen by oncoming traffic, he said.

He said that if the wall and bush had been lower in height, the view of pedestrians and of vehicles would be enhanced.

CNA has reached out to The Topiary to check if steps have been taken to address the visibility at the service road, or to restore the original pickup point at the entrance.

The late Nivya Rameshwar pictured with her mother (left) and the Topiary condominium at Fernvale. (Images: Courtesy of Neela Kanagasundaram, Google Street View)

Nivya's parents and relatives packed the courtroom.

The coroner conveyed his condolences to them, describing her death as "an absolutely terrible loss".

"I don't think these findings ... may bring you the closure you wish, but I hope they have gone some way to bring closure to you," he said.

"IT'S PAINFUL": MOTHER

Speaking to the media after the hearing, Nivya's mother, Ms Neela Kanagasundaram said Wednesday was "just the beginning".

"The wrongness is never going to end," she said emotionally.

"It's just the start. It's for the police to come up and decide on what needs to be done."

"It's painful, it's something that could've been prevented," said the nurse.

She remembered her daughter as loving, kind and non-judgmental.

"She was one of a kind," she said. "When she enters the room, the whole room will light up."

Ms Lolita Andrew of Adel Law, who represents Nivya's family along with Mr James Gomez Jovian Messiah from Edmond Pereira Law, told CNA that the family intends to mount civil actions against both the driver and the condominium.

She added that there was no reason to believe that the helper would have knowingly placed the children in harm’s way.

She emphasised that the family did not blame the helper, who had always been regarded by the family as a “second mother” to the children.

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庭审结束后，尼维亚·拉梅什瓦尔的母亲在接受媒体采访时说：“这很痛苦，这是本来可以避免的。”

已故的尼维亚·拉梅什瓦尔于2024年6月在南非好望角与母亲合影。（照片由尼拉·卡纳加桑达拉姆提供）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：验尸法庭周三（10月7日）表示，一名七岁女童在盛港一处公寓被校车撞倒后身亡，当时来往车辆可能看不到她。

这是因为通往她被撞的那条服务道路的通道里有一堵高墙和一丛 1.4 米高的灌木。

法庭还获悉，在家长投票赞成这项安排后，校车被允许使用辅路接送学生。

此前，校车在盛港The Topiary正门附近设有上下客点。此次更改是应家长反馈，原下客点距离太远，他们不得不提前5到10分钟叫醒孩子。

2024年8月15日上午，新加坡小学二年级学生尼维亚·拉梅什瓦尔在盛港The Topiary的辅路上等校车。

她的女佣过马路去放一些行李，等着尼维娅的校车。女佣正要回来接她时，尼维娅被另一辆来接其他孩子的校车撞了。

女佣看到女孩浑身是血，便抱起女孩，哭得撕心裂肺，引得另外两名居民呼救。

面包车司机傅学雄先生作证说，当天早上6点刚过，天就黑了。

他还说，他当时正看着女佣过马路，没有注意到妮维娅。

州验尸官亚当·纳霍达周三裁定，尼维亚死于交通事故造成的伤势，不存在谋杀或其他犯罪行为。

他强调，验尸法庭不负责认定责任，法庭无权决定 Phua 先生是否尽到了适当的瞭望职责、是否分心驾驶或鲁莽驾驶。

目前为止，Phua先生尚未因这起事件被起诉。

他曾向法庭表示，当天他沿着辅路行驶，时速在 10 公里以上，但低于 20 公里。

调查人员表示，这条路位于私人住宅区内，因此没有官方的限速规定。

然而，法庭获悉，公寓规章规定公寓内的限速为 15 公里/小时。

Phua先生没有迟到，按时到达公寓接他，并表示他当时没有使用手机。

检查他的设备后发现，事发前后没有任何通话或短信记录。

调查人员表示，由于没有迹象表明他在开车前饮酒，因此没有对他进行酒精呼气测试。

纳霍达先生指出，事故地点附近的墙高超过 1.8 米，而灌木丛高 1.4 米。

他说，这意味着等待过马路的人可能不会被迎面而来的车辆看到。

他说，如果围墙和灌木丛的高度降低一些，行人和车辆的视野将会得到改善。

CNA已联系The Topiary，询问是否已采取措施解决服务道路的视线问题，或恢复入口处的原有取货点。

已故的妮维娅·拉梅什瓦尔与她的母亲（左）以及位于费恩维尔的托皮亚里公寓合影。（图片：由尼拉·卡纳加桑达拉姆提供，谷歌街景）

妮维娅的父母和亲戚挤满了法庭。

验尸官向他们表达了慰问，称她的去世是“绝对可怕的损失”。

“我不认为这些调查结果……能给你带来你所希望的解脱，但我希望它们能在某种程度上给你带来解脱，”他说。

“好痛啊。”母亲

庭审结束后，妮维娅的母亲尼拉·卡纳加桑达拉姆女士在接受媒体采访时表示，周三“仅仅是个开始”。

“这种错误永远不会结束，”她情绪激动地说。

“这只是个开始。接下来要由警方来决定需要采取什么措施。”

“这很令人痛心，而且本来是可以避免的，”护士说。

她回忆起女儿时，觉得她充满爱心、善良且不带偏见。

“她是独一无二的，”她说。“她一走进房间，整个房间都会亮起来。”

代表尼维亚家人的阿德尔律师事务所的洛丽塔·安德鲁女士和埃德蒙·佩雷拉律师事务所的詹姆斯·戈麦斯·乔维安·梅西亚先生告诉CNA，尼维亚的家人打算对肇事司机和公寓提起民事诉讼。

她补充说，没有理由相信这名帮手会故意将孩子们置于危险之中。

她强调，家人并没有责怪这位帮佣，家人一直把她视为孩子们的“第二个母亲”。

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