Express bus skids and plunges into ditch, injuring 14
Fourteen people were injured when an express bus skidded and plunged into a ditch near the Menora Tunnel here yesterday.
The incident occurred at Km265 of the North-South Expressway at 2am as the bus was travelling from Kulim, Kedah to Kuala Lumpur.
The accident was believed to have occurred when the bus driver, a 39-year-old man, nodded off and lost control of the vehicle.
District deputy police chief Superintendent Mohamad Nordin Abdullah said two of the 14 passengers were badly injured in the crash.
He said the two, a 40-year-old Indonesian man and a 33-yearold woman, sustained severe injuries to the head and hip respectively.
“The driver, who hailed from Alor Star, Kedah sustained light injuries to his leg.”
Nordin said the driver was arrested.
Checks showed that he had 19 summonses for various traffic offences and three summonses for the bus he was driving.
“An initial investigation revealed that he lost control of the vehicle before it skidded to the left side of the road and overturned in the ditch.
“The driver was suspected to have dozed off while driving,” he said.
A Perak Fire and Rescue Department spokesperson said the department received a distress call at 2.22am.
“A team of firemen from the Meru Raya and Ipoh stations were dispatched to the scene.
“Upon arrival, we found that the bus was in the ditch and there was no other vehicle involved in the crash.
“We had to use stretchers to bring out all the injured victims and we gave them first aid.
“All the injured victims, aged between 14 and 59, were taken to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital for treatment,” he said adding that the operation ended at 4.39am.
The case is being investigated under Section 44 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs.