COINS FLY AS VAN CRASHES
Security van hits ice-cream truck, which had turned turtle after grazing trailer
KELLY KOH
ALOR GAJAH kelly.koh@nst.com.my
QUICK action by firemen here helped prevent motorists from scooping up thousands of coins left strewn on a highway following an accident involving a security van.
In the 5am incident at Km208.6 of the North-South Expressway here yesterday, thousands of coins were strewn out of the security van when it crashed into an ice-cream truck.
The ice-cream truck had grazed a trailer with a flat tyre parked along the emergency lane.
The truck skidded and turned turtle on the middle lane before it was hit by the oncoming security van.
Malacca Fire and Rescue Department operations officer Mohd Tajuddin Jaafar said 10 firemen rushed to the scene at 5.23am.
“When we arrived, we found the driver and the front passenger pinned to their seats, while another person was trapped in the back of the van.
“All of them, though conscious, were unable to escape,” he said.
Firemen took 40 minutes to free the victims using a hydraulic ram. The victims were treated at Malacca Hospital.
The driver suffered a broken right leg and the front passenger a broken left leg, while the guard sustained injuries to his ribs.
Traffic slowed down as authorities helped to pick up the coins strewn on the road.
They also washed off melting ice-cream, which had made the road slippery.
The 43-year-old truck driver escaped unhurt, while his 17-year-old attendant sustained light injuries to his left leg and was referred to Malacca Hospital for treatment.
The 38-year-old trailer driver escaped unhurt.
Authorities were unable to gauge how many coins were strewn on the ground following the accident.
Tajuddin said it was estimated that about RM20,000 was being transported by the security van.