KUANTAN, June 15 — The lorry driver involved in the accident that claimed four lives at KM43 of the Kuala Lumpur-Karak (KLK) Expressway yesterday has tested positive for drugs.
Bentong police chief Supt Zaiham Mohd Kahar said the 40-year-old man was taken to the Bentong district police headquarters for a urine screening test immediately after receiving treatment at the hospital.
“The screening test results found that the man was positive for methamphetamine, and he was arrested at about 4am today,” he said in a statement today.
Earlier, it was also reported that the lorry driver had 15 traffic summonses on record.
In the incident, which occurred at about 4.30pm, the trailer carrying a load of iron dust overturned onto a Honda City driven by a 55-year-old man, with three passengers aged between one and 58 years old travelling in the vehicle.
Meanwhile, Zaiham said the lorry driver has been remanded for four days, from today, to assist in investigations under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.
KLK Expressway concessionaire AFA Prime Bhd, in a statement issued via WhatsApp, said traffic congestion was reported along the KM40.8 to KM43.3 stretch as of 2.47pm today due to vehicle recovery operations following yesterday’s accident.
It is understood that the trailer also caught fire during the recovery operation yesterday, after all the victims had been successfully extricated. — Bernama
