13-year-old reverses van down a slope and into the drain at Telok Blangah

Singapore — A 13-year-old girl managed to enter a van, turn on the engine, accidentally hit reverse, and step on the accelerator, thus driving the vehicle down a slope and into a drain at Telok Blangah.

The accident happened on Wednesday afternoon (Jun 23) at the car park in front of Block 40 Telok Blangah Rise, according to Chinese newspaper Lianhe Wanbao.

Rania, 15, gave an account of the incident, noting the van belonged to her uncle. Her uncle had given her sister the keys to the van to grab something from it.

However, Rania’s sister handed over the keys to a 13-year-old girl who is a good friend of theirs.

The teen said that their friend somehow climbed into the van and switched on the engine.

Without having a clue how to operate a vehicle, the girl placed the gear into reverse and stepped on the accelerator by accident, propelling the van to move backward.

The vehicle reversed down the slope from the car park and into a drain. A metal railing above the drain managed to block the van, causing it to come to a halt.

Photos released by Wanbao showed the back of the van damaged from the impact.

As a result, two tow trucks were employed to extricate the van out of the drain.

“My friend told me that she fell backward and her glasses were knocked off. She couldn’t stop until the van hit the railing, and the rear of the van got stuck in the drain. She crawled out of the car by herself. No injuries,” said Rania.

Rania’s sister, the friend, and her family went to a nearby police station to record a statement after the accident.

The incident was also confirmed by Kumar, 40, who owned the van.

“They are all children, so I can’t say anything. I received a notice from the Traffic Police at around 3 pm before I knew that there was an accident,” he added. /TISG

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