Coroner States Driver in River Valley Accident Likely Couldn’t See 4-Year-Old Victim

Few things in life are more tragic than the death of a child.

On 23 Jan, four-year-old Zara Mei Orlic crossed the Institution Hill road at River Valley, which has no pedestrian crossings, ahead of her helper and younger sister.

She was being taken home from preschool by the domestic helper, who carried both sisters’ bags.

Sadly, while passing between two stationary cars, Zara was struck by another car, sustaining fatal injuries to her head, including a “shattered” skull.

She succumbed to them after being taken to Singapore General Hospital.

You can read more about the details of the accident here.

Coroner Finds Driver in River Valley Accident Could Not Notice Zara

The 40-year-old driver was arrested but not charged while waiting for the coroner’s findings to be revealed.

Today (12 July), the coroner’s court revealed the coroner’s findings. He found that Zara was completely obscured from view by one of the cars the victim passed in between.

Traffic police investigations found that the car was not travelling at a high speed and Zara only appeared for a second on the dashcam footage before the fatal collision. She was also just a metre in height.

As such, he found it “not surprising” that the driver did not notice Zara or take evasive actions.

The coroner did not mention jaywalking in his findings, although the helper and the two young girls did not cross at a proper junction.

In legal terms, jaywalking is when you cross a road within 50 metres of a crossing zone. As the closest crossing was 200 metres away, they were not jaywalking by the letter of the law.

A Traffic Police Station Inspector testified previously, however, that Zara’s parents had reminded their helper not to cross the road at Institution Hill but to instead walk about 200 metres from their preschool to the pedestrian crossing.

The helper told police that she usually held Zara’s hand on the walk home. Tragically, on the day itself, the helper was only holding onto the younger girl’s hand.

She further expressed her sadness at the loss of Zara, who she said she cared for dearly.

The helper is currently still working for the Orlic family.

Coroner Highlights Importance of Holding Child’s Hand on Roads

The coroner also used the River Valley accident to emphasise the importance of always holding the hand of a child when crossing the road.

Since young kids do not fully understand the dangers of traffic, they could be prone to moving or dashing straight into danger.

“The need to be vigilant and to take utmost precaution cannot be overemphasised,” he said.

On top of that, anyone crossing a road outside a pedestrian crossing should always take note of blind spots where passing cars cannot see you.

The Orlic family’s lawyer said that they were currently still considering legal options after looking over the coroner’s findings.