Nine people were taken to hospital after a multi-vehicle crash on the Tampines Expressway set a motorcycle on fire near the Punggol Road exit on Wednesday morning, Singapore police said. The chain-reaction collision between a car, a lorry and two motorcycles happened at about 6:50 a.m. on the eastbound carriageway toward the Pan-Island Expressway, just as peak-hour traffic was building.
A 40-year-old lorry driver, six passengers aged 21 to 61 riding in the lorry, and two motorcyclists aged 25 and 37 were conscious when ambulances arrived, according to the Singapore Police Force. The Singapore Civil Defence Force said one other person was assessed for minor injuries but declined transport. Both motorcyclists and the lorry occupants were among those sent for treatment; police did not release individual injury grades.
Fire on the roadway
SCDF said one motorcycle caught fire after the impact. Bystanders used fire extinguishers to knock down the flames before emergency crews reached the scene, limiting damage to surrounding vehicles. Photographs circulated on messaging groups showed heavy smoke billowing across the lane closest to the exit, with traffic backing up toward Punggol and Sengkang estates.
Police said a 55-year-old male car driver and the lorry driver are assisting with investigations. No arrests were announced by midday. The expressway lane closures lasted through the early rush, with motorists reporting delays of more than an hour on alternative routes via TPE and the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway.
Rising injury toll on Singapore roads
The crash landed in a year when road injury statistics have trended upward. Police data cited by local media show injury accidents rising for a third straight half-year in 2026, with motorcycle collisions climbing to 2,186 in the first six months from 2,096 a year earlier. Injuries involving riders increased to 2,470 from 2,335 over the same period.
Transport analysts say expressway junctions near large housing towns remain high-risk zones because merging traffic, heavy lorries and riders filtering between lanes interact at speed. The Land Transport Authority has been rolling out tighter rules on mobility devices and illegal ride-hailing, but Wednesday’s incident involved licensed motor vehicles rather than personal mobility devices.
What investigators will examine
Authorities have not said what triggered the initial impact. Crash reconstruction teams typically review dashcam footage from the lorry and car, along with skid marks and debris fields, before deciding whether to charge anyone for careless or dangerous driving. Insurers for the lorry firm and the passenger car will also seek access to police reports because multiple injury claims are likely.
For commuters, the immediate concern is whether any structural damage to barriers or lighting near the Punggol exit will require overnight lane closures later in the week. LTA did not announce follow-up road works on Wednesday, but SCDF reminded drivers to keep extinguishers within reach after several recent vehicle fires on expressways.