35-year-old man who stopped to help an injured driver on the SLE but was hit and killed by a car was a new father at the time – Mothership.SG

On July 28, while driving home with his wife and six-month-old baby, a man witnessed a traffic accident and decided to stop and help.

He got out of his car while his wife stayed behind and took care of the baby.

Without his wife's knowledge, he was hit by another car and pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

She only learned the devastating news when a police officer came to her car to get information.

She was seen crying with grief when she saw the white sheet covered her husband.

More than a month after the accident, Muhamad Sabri Bin Rusman's family is still mourning their loss and is appealing to witnesses for information about the accident.

Police investigate

The police said Mothership that on July 28, 2024, at approximately 2 a.m., they were informed of an accident involving two cars, a motorcycle, and a male motorist along SLE toward BKE.

An SCDF paramedic confirmed the death of a 35-year-old car driver at the scene of the accident and a 31-year-old motorcyclist was taken to hospital in conscious condition.

The police investigation is ongoing and a 32-year-old driver is assisting with the investigation.

A Good Samaritan

In conversation with MothershipSabri's sister, Teti Rusydiah, described her brother as a respectful and helpful person.

She said he was himself on that fateful night and wanted to help after witnessing an accident between a motorcycle and a car on the Seletar Expressway (SLE).

His wife added: “Even before we were married, he always stopped to help in traffic accidents. So that night I thought it was just another night. I know he just wanted to help.”

While Sabri got out of the car to help, his wife could not see him from her seat.

Then she heard a “loud bang” and tried to find Sabri, but could not find him.

Later, someone came to her car, asked for her ID and told her to wait.

At that moment she saw a corpse on the floor covered by a white sheet and became uneasy.

However, she was told to wait until a police officer came to her.

The officer later detained her son while she was asked to confirm that the body was indeed that of her husband.

When she realized it was Sabri, she screamed in grief.

What happened according to another driver?

Shin Min Daily News Already on July 29, it was reported that a motorcyclist had crashed into the rear door of a car and fallen to the ground.

The driver, surnamed Zhang, immediately stopped to help the motorcyclist.

He told Chinese media that another driver, now identified as Sabri, also stopped to provide assistance.

“The situation was pretty hectic back then,” Zhang recalls.

“Another motorcyclist helped me get the injured rider to the side of the road.

Unexpectedly, about three minutes later, I heard a loud noise and realized that the male driver, who had just gotten out of his car, had been hit by another black car and had fallen in the right lane.”

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed Mothership that on 28 July, in a road accident along the SLE towards Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) before the Lentor Avenue exit, a paramedic confirmed the death of a person at the scene of the accident.

Zhang noticed that there was a woman in the dead man's vehicle who cried in grief when she later identified the body.

Remembered as a hero

Those who knew him remember Sabri as a “hero.”

Teti said the family was going through a “difficult time” and needed time to grieve.

She was recently informed by the investigating officer that the available camera footage from the area did not capture the entire incident.

The family is now asking the public to contact them if they have any information about the accident.

“No matter what the outcome of the investigation, he will always be a hero in our eyes and that will be the story we will tell his little boy when he grows up,” she said.

Top photos by Teti Rusydiah