Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Singapore Actress Jacelyn Tay : Gangnam Style almost cost me my life.

GANGNAM Style by Psy has proven to be a killer hit. No thanks to the catchy K-pop song.

A bit too literally, for Singapore actress Jacelyn Tay, 37-year-old, found herself involved in a scary car crash.

The accident happened on Sunday night , 4 November 2012, in Seoul, South Korea, where Jacelyn was on holiday with her husband-businessman Brian Wong, in his 40s.

It was the last day of their 5-day trip and the couple had saved the best for last – a visit to the affluent district of Gangnam that had inspired the worldwide hit. ( Check it out Gangnam Style here)

Gangnam Style” (Korean: 강남스타일, IPA: [kaŋnam sɯtʰail]) is a single by the South Korean pop artist PSY. The song was released on July 15, 2012, as the lead single of his sixth studio album PSY 6 (Six Rules), Part 1. “Gangnam Style” debuted at number one on the Gaon Chart, the national record chart of South Korea. As of November 4, 2012 (2012 -11-04), the music video has been viewed over 660 million times on YouTube, and is the site’s second most watched video and most watched K-pop video.

Jacelyn and Brian, accompanied by her Korean friend, student Vanessa Hong, 25, and another friend had wanted to try Gangnam’s famous sashimi crab. She also wanted to visit the district to feel the “Gangnam vibe” because of the popularity of Gangnam Style.

On the way to the district, their taxi skidded, spun, crashed into a barrier at a flyover in the face of oncoming traffic, and almost flipped over it.

Jacelyn said: I thought I was going to die. My last thought before we hit was whether it was river or hard road beneath the flyover. If it was water, I was thinking about how we were going to escape. It was truly a miracle that we all survived.

Apart from suffering backaches, they a=were unhurt, and she was thankful that she had left her 2-year-old son at home in Singapore.

They had flagged down the taxi at Myeongdong at 9pm after shopping at Lotte Plaza.

It was drizzling and the roads were slippery, but they were looking forward to dinner in Gangnam.

The taxi driver, in his 60s, sped towards a flyover, driving at more than 100 kmh.

He took the fast lane on the extreme left lane when he reached the five-lane flyover.

There wasn’t time to ask him to slow down, and a minute into the ride, he skidded at the curve of the flyover. The orange-color-taxi spun and and slid across four lanes and into the lanes with oncomig traffic.

Fortunately for the four passengers , there were not any cars zooming past at that time, which was unusual for the normally busy lanes.

Jacelyn's ordeal did not end there.

As the 60s-year-old cab driver tried desperately to gain control of his bvehicle, it rammed into the metal barrier on the other side of the flyover. If the impact had been greater, the car would have flipped over to the dark depths beneath the flyover.

Jacelyn said: I think in an emergency situation, your true color will show. After this experience, I have to say that i was impressed with myself. I did not knw I could keep this calm in the midst of the terror.

I was wedged between two friends
I had a horrific point of view of the entire accident as I was wedged between my two girlfriends at the back of the cab. We were not wearing seat belts, the impact could have flung us out of the taxi. My husband was seated in front on the right, next to the tzxi driver. In Korea, drivers are seated on the left of the vehicle.

As a result of the crash, the left side of the taxi was dented.

I was frightened that the taxi would burst into flames like a scene from one of my dramas I acted in.

We did not scold the driver. We were just happy to be alive. if we were shown kindness, we were allowed to live against all odds, we should extend the same kindness to the driver.

He looked very worried and frightened that we would call the police.

So out of consideration for the driver, we did not call the police or go to the hospital for a check-up.
I felt pity for the old man, who probably have a big bill to pay for his taxi repairs.

My Korean friend, Vanessa, also kept apologising to me and my husband, which touched her immensely.

We took pictures of the crash, which I posted on Facebook.

When I called my mother my mother , I had to lie and tell her it was a minor incident so she would not be worried.

The taxi driver bowed and apologised profusely before he called another cab for us.  it took us to Gangnam – and our dinner, finally.

This was my first major road accident, aside from a few bumper accidents that i have had in Singapore.

Jacelyn Tay joked: Gangnam Style almost cost my life.

I NEVER WANT  TO HAVE SUCH AN 'EXCITING' EXPERIENCE AGAIN.

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