The trailer that was completely destroyed in the fire while the Proton Pesona vehicle ended upside down in the incident along Tamparuli/Ranau Road yesterday.
Members of the public helping out victims who were either injured or trapped inside the Toyota Prado vehicle in the incident yesterday.
TUARAN: A local man succumbed to serious head and body injuries while five others sustained injuries in an accident that involved three vehicles, a Toyota Prado, a Proton Pesona and a trailer truck, at KM20.6 Tamparuli/Ranau Road, near here yesterday.
The trailer truck burst into flames after it rammed into both vehicles in the 9.30am incident.
Koh Tze Guan, 62, the driver of the Toyota Prado vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene when he was pinned at the driver’s seat while his 59-year-old wife only sustained injuries in the crash.
Two people who were travelling in the Proton Pesona car, both aged 36, and the driver of the truck and his passenger, in their 30s, also escaped with injuries and minor injuries.
Tuaran acting police chief ASP Juraimah Ismail, when contacted yesterday said, initial police investigation showed that the truck driver had lost control of the vehicle while coming down a hill from Ranau and heading to Tamparuli.
“As the truck was approaching a bend, the driver lost control of the vehicle which then rammed into the Toyota Prado and Proton Pesona vehicles that were on the opposite lane,” she said, adding that both vehicles were heading to Tamparuli from Ranau.
Juraimah said that Koh was pinned at the driver’s seat and was pronounced dead at the scene due to severe head and body injuries while the five victims only sustained injuries.
She said Koh’s body had been taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu for a post-mortem while the injured victims were seeking treatment at the Tuaran Hospital.
Juraimah said the case would be investigated under Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 and she urged eyewitnesses to come forward to assist police in their investigation.
Meanwhile, Fire and Rescue Services Department public relations officer Senior Assistant Superintendent Mohd Affendy Ramin when contacted yesterday said, 12 Fire and Rescue Services personnel from the Tuaran station were sent to the scene after being informed of the incident.
He said Fire and Rescue Services personnel managed to control the blaze that destroyed the truck within minutes after arriving.
“As our personnel arrived, four of the victims have been taken to hospital by members of the public and it took us several minutes to extract one of the victims who was pinned at the driver’s seat,” he said, adding that the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.