BUKIT MERTAJAM: A motorcyclist who did not have time to avoid a telecommunication cable that fell due to being pulled down by a crane bar, died in an accident at Jalan Kulim here yesterday afternoon.
Seberang Perai Tengah district police chief ACP Helmi Aris said the victim, who was in his 40s, suffered serious injuries to his neck and was confirmed dead at the scene.
“Preliminary investigations found that the accident occurred when the truck driver, a local man in his 20s from the direction of Kulim, was heading towards Bukit Mertajam.
“Upon arriving at the scene of the incident, the crane bar behind the truck got stuck in a transverse telecommunication cable and caused the cable to fall on the road,“ he said in a statement today.
He said the victim, a local man who was riding a motorcycle from the opposite direction, did not have time to evade, causing the cable wire to hit his neck before crashing and falling on the road.
Helmi said the victim’s body was sent to the Forensic Unit of the Bukit Mertajam Hospital for post-mortem while the truck driver was remanded for three days starting today to assist in investigations under Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act (APJ) 1987.
The incident also went viral on social media which drew criticism from netizens claiming that the accident was caused by the negligence of the crane truck driver.
