SUNGAI PETANI: Three people, including a retired policeman and his wife, were killed in two separate accidents along the North-South Expressway (PLUS) near here today.
Kuala Muda district police chief ACP Hanyan Ramlan said the first accident occurred at 12.16pm when the couple died after their motorcycle was involved in a three-vehicle collision at KM114.4 northbound, near Tikam Batu.
He said the crash was believed to have occurred when a Perodua Bezza carrying a married couple stopped on the emergency lane to change drivers before re-entering the left lane and colliding with two motorcycles.
“The Yamaha XMAX motorcycle ridden by Suhaimi Saidin, 64, with his wife, Normah Hashim, 60, as pillion rider, was thrown into the right lane. Both were pronounced dead at the scene,” he said in a statement today.
Hanyan said the rider and pillion rider of the other motorcycle, a Keeway XDV180 EVO, aged 18 and 15 respectively, were seriously injured.
The 36-year-old driver of the Perodua Bezza and his 41-year-old passenger were unhurt.
He said the injured victims were taken to Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital for treatment, while the couple’s bodies were sent to the hospital’s Forensic Department for post-mortem examinations.
Suhaimi, who retired on Aug 11, 2022, had served at the Service Division of the Penang Police Contingent Headquarters.
In a separate incident at about 9am at KM108 northbound, near the Sungai Petani Selatan exit, a technician was killed when his motorcycle crashed into the rear of a lorry parked on the emergency lane.
Hanyan said investigations found that the lorry, which was travelling from Penang to Sungai Petani, had broken down and stopped on the emergency lane. Its driver had placed a warning triangle behind the vehicle.
“About 10 minutes later, the Honda ADV 160 motorcycle ridden by the victim is believed to have failed to notice the lorry before crashing into its rear,” he said.
He said the victim, Mohamad Saifudin Saad, 43, who worked for a company in Penang, suffered head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 34-year-old lorry driver was unhurt.
Hanyan said both cases were being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.