SINGAPORE - Zhong Si Ting was crossing the road on the way to her tuition class in Woodlands on Thursday evening when she heard her friend yell her name.

The 12-year-old turned around to see a large blue trailer inches away. The next thing she knew, she was on the ground.

"When I opened my eyes, the truck had stopped and my whole body was underneath the truck (carriage)," Si Ting told The Straits Times on Friday.

Lying next to her was the friend who sounded the warning, Chua Shan Shan, also 12. The truck had hit them both.

A 28-year-old trailer driver was arrested on Thursday (March 15) in connection with the incident. The police said they were alerted to the accident at the junction of Admiralty Road and Marsiling Drive at about 5pm.

The trailer driver was subsequently arrested for dangerous driving, police said.

It is understood that he was making a left turn when the traffic lights turned green, though pedestrians were also able to cross at the same time.

Si Ting said that she was in shock and did not feel any pain until the truck driver pulled her and her friend out from under the vehicle. Only then did she see her left leg covered in scratches.

She called her mother, who then called an ambulance that took her to the hospital, where x-rays revealed she had fractured both her ankles, the right more severely than the left.

The two girls were conscious when they were taken to the KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

Si Ting said she will undergo an operation for her right ankle on Sunday if her superficial wounds are better.

Shan Shan escaped with minor injuries to her knees and will be discharged on Saturday.

A witness who gave his name only as Mr Ng told The Straits Times that the trailer stopped after hitting the girls.

Luckily, the girls managed to escape without serious injuries, as they were between the wheels of the trailer. The girls are childhood friends and classmates from Qihua Primary School. They were born on the same day and live in the same block in Marsiling.