Zara Mei Orlic Obituary, 4-Year-Old Girl Killed In River Valley Accident: The car involved in a fatal accident in River Valley earlier this year, which resulted in the death of a four-year-old girl named Zara Mei Orlic, was not traveling at a high speed as it made a turn, the coroner’s court heard on Wednesday (June 26). Zara died on January 23 after being struck by a car that had turned right into Institution Hill from River Valley Road. She was taken to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) but succumbed to her injuries later that evening.
An autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was a head injury consistent with a motor vehicle collision. During the coroner’s inquest, Traffic Police Station Inspector Muhammad Firdaus Suleiman, the investigating officer, presented findings from the investigation report. The court heard that Zara’s parents had instructed their maid to avoid jaywalking at Institution Hill, but the maid did not follow this directive. When questioned by Coroner Eddy Tham, Inspector Firdaus confirmed that Zara was not crossing at a legal crossing zone, but there were no signs prohibiting pedestrians from doing so.
Zara’s parents, represented by lawyer Alfred Lim, and the driver’s lawyers were present in court. Zara was the middle child in the family, who lived in a condominium along Institution Hill known as Aspen Heights. The accident occurred on a single-lane, two-way road at Institution Hill, where several cars were waiting to turn onto River Valley Road. The maid, employed since October 2023, was tasked with fetching the two younger children from school, while the eldest took a school bus.
On the day of the incident, the maid had been walking Zara and her younger sister home from a preschool along River Valley Road, approximately ten minutes from their home. She admitted to not holding Zara’s hand, describing her as an “independent child” who walked ahead. The family had previously instructed the maid to use a signalized pedestrian crossing closer to Institution Hill, which would have avoided the need to cross the road at Institution Hill, where there are no signalized pedestrian crossings.
However, the maid used the crossing nearer to the preschool, which required crossing Institution Hill. Zara’s parents were unsure why the maid deviated from their instructions on that day, though it was noted she had frequently used this particular route. The police received a call about the accident at 4:57 PM. The driver, a 40-year-old woman whose name was not disclosed, had been on her way home after picking up her children. As she turned right into Institution Hill, Zara ran across the front of her car. The driver did not see Zara and only realized she had hit something after feeling the impact and hearing a scream. She then checked her rearview mirror and saw that she had struck someone.
The driver stopped and rushed to Zara, who was lying motionless on the road. Emergency services were alerted, and the driver remained at the scene until their arrival. Zara was taken to SGH, where she died. The maid was treated for trauma and is reportedly still with the family. She claimed she had screamed for the car to stop but was unsuccessful. She then informed Zara’s father of the accident. In-car camera footage from the driver showed Zara crossing between two stationary vehicles when she was hit.
The footage revealed that the 1m-tall child appeared for only about one second before the collision. Inspector Firdaus confirmed that the vehicles waiting to exit Institution Hill would have obstructed the driver’s view of Zara. Lawyer Alfred Lim inquired about the maid’s distance from Zara during the accident and any possible distraction for the driver. Inspector Firdaus stated that the maid was about three steps, or roughly 1m, behind Zara and that the driver was not distracted during the incident. The Attorney-General’s Chambers will decide on any prosecution action against the driver or the maid after the coroner’s inquiry is completed. Coroner Tham will deliver the findings of the case on July 5.
