The Hilux allegedly lost control before colliding with the Grand Starex in the opposite lane
Four members of a family were killed when the Hyundai Grand Starex MPV they were travelling in was rammed head-on by a Toyota Hilux pickup truck along Lebuhraya Sultan Iskandar in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday (27 February 2022).
The Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department in a statement said that the deceased has been confirmed to be P. Milan Damani, 32, his wife Thinisha Chanderasegaran, 31, and their two children, Rihaan Ivaan Damani, 4, and Ishaan Ivaan Damani, 3.
“The accident occurred when the victim’s multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) heading towards the Parliament building, collided head-on with a 4WD vehicle which entered its lane from the opposite direction. All four victims died as a result of the collision while the driver of the 4WD vehicle escaped with minor injuries,” read the statement.
The department received an emergency call regarding the accident at 10.52 am and 14 firefighters together with two fire engines and an ambulance from the Titiwangsa and Sri Hartamas Fire and Rescue stations were rushed to the scene.
The work to remove the victims’ bodies from the mangled MPV took about an hour. The bodies were then sent to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for further action.
Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department chief ACP Sarifudin Mohd Salleh said the Hilux driver, 27, would be arrested after his treatment at Hospital Kuala Lumpur, adding that he would also undergo urine test to determine if he was on drugs when the accident took place.
According to Sarifudin, the pickup truck driver, who works as a mechanic, was heading from Mahameru to Jalan Tun Razak when he lost lost control of the vehicle, which then skidded and jumped across the divider, before crashing into the Starex. He added that the case was being investigated under section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.
This, sadly, was not the first fatal accident caused by a vehicle that was on the wrong side of the road. Granted, based on Sarifudin’s explanation, the Hilux driver did not drive in the wrong lane on purpose but the fact that he lost control of the vehicle points to none other than reckless driving by him.
