C
Cao Pi
Guest
Friday December 17, 2010
Birthday joy ends in death
BUTTERWORTH: The joy of celebrating a friend’s birthday ended in tragedy when a 25-year old mechanic was killed in an accident at KM5.1 on the Prai-bound lane of the Penang Bridge. A police spokesman said Khor Chai Tong from Nibong Tebal died shortly after the car he was driving crashed into the bridge divider and caught fire at about 1am yesterday. “A friend, who drove in a separate car from behind, stopped and pulled him out before the car caught fire.
Razed: The wrecked Nissan Cefiro driven by Khor at the Penang Bridge Thursday.
“But he died shortly afterwards due to multiple injuries on his head,” the spokesperson said, adding that his body was sent to the Seberang Jaya Hospital for post-mortem.
The spokesman said initial investigations showed that the man was driving fast on the right lane and lost control of the vehicle. On hitting the divider, the car spun a few times before coming to a halt and catching fire, he said.
Prai fire station senior officer Ismail Rahim said 14 firemen on two engines and four Rapid Intervention Motorcycle units from the station rushed to the scene after receiving a call at 1.18am.
He said the firemen took about five minutes to put the fire out. State Police Traffic Operations chief Deputy Supt Abdul Rahim Md Din said the case was being investigated to check if there was any element of reckless driving.
