Second accident at unused Batu Tiga toll plaza claims two lives (Updated)

SHAH ALAM: The inactive Batu Tiga toll plaza is turning out to be a "killer stretch" after it claimed two lives early today when the car they were travelling in hit the pillar of one of the unused booths.
This is the second fatal accident recorded at the toll plaza, following another incident on Jan 15 when two others lost their lives.
In today's incident, the victims were identified as Fathurezza Khoirul Huda Halimsuyto, 31, and Noor Hidayah Mohamed Rezmi, 27.
Shah Alam district police chief ACP Baharudin Mat Taib said initial investigations revealed that the duo were travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Shah Alam.
Fathurezza Khoirul Huda, who was driving, is believed to have lost control of the speeding vehicle before ramming into the pillar.
"The duo were believed to be on their way home after celebrating Noor Hidayah's birthday on Sunday.
"Fathurezza Khoirul Huda and Noor Hidayah were confirmed dead at the scene due to severe injuries," he said today.
Baharudin said their bodies were sent to the Shah Alam Hospital for a post-mortem and the case was being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for death by reckless driving.
Many Federal Highway road-users have voiced concerns over the risk of accidents posed by the inactive toll plazas and are urging authorities to expedite their demolition at the Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau sites.
Checks by theSun showed that instead of slowing down as they have done in the past when approaching both toll plazas, there are motorists from both the Klang and Petaling Jaya directions who speed over the legal limit as they attempt to slip through the narrow passages.
There were also cars spotted switching lanes at high speeds near the toll plazas, causing near-misses with other vehicles.
However, PLUS Malaysia Berhad, which is responsible for the highway, only expects the demolition of the two toll plazas to be completed in late March.
It said that removal of the toll equipment, signage and other assets had to be done before demolition of the physical structure could begin.
Both toll plazas ceased operations from Jan 1 following the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak during the 2018 Budget in October 2017.
In Ipoh, the Menora Tunnel was closed to traffic this morning, which triggered a 5km traffic crawl due to an accident involving two vehicles at KM261.4 of the North-South Expressway, northbound.
The tunnel was eventually reopened at 12pm after clean-up works were completed.
In Johor, a married couple died in an accident at Km36, Jalan Johor Baru-Mersing near the road entering Taman Daiman Jaya, Johor Baru this afternoon.
Edil Azhar Abdul Rahman @ Mohamed, 39, and his wife, Noraziah Mohamad Ali, 36, were in a car and are believed to have been on their way home in Felda Pasak, here.
Kota Tinggi district police chief Supt Ahsmon Bajah said in the incident at about 4.45pm, a vehicle from the direction of Kota Tinggi heading towards Johor Baru entered into the opposite lane and collided with the car carrying the couple.