PETALING JAYA: Police have confirmed the tyre detached from the lorry tank in December’s fatal crash in Malacca was not sent for checks at the Computerized Vehicle Inspection Center (Puspakom).
Alor Gajah district police chief Supt Ashari Abu Samah said this after the investigation at the crash site at Kilometre (KM) 204 of the North-South Highway up north, and his team failed to recover the tyre.
He confirmed that the police and PLUS Malaysia Berhad (PLUS) are currently working together to trace the tyre, Berita Harian reported.
“At the initial stage, the police had no information regarding the truck’s tyre until it went viral from the dashboard of the witness’s car during the incident.
“Additionally, a statement from the truck driver also confirmed that the tyre detached and was in the middle of the road at the time of the incident,“ Ashari was quoted as saying.
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Puspakom chief executive officer Mahmood Razak Bahman earlier confirmed the report of the crash was handed to the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS), said to be “incomplete” due to not receiving or finding the missing lorry tyre.
The report only covered the inspection of the vehicles from the deadly crash.
On December 23 2024, a family of five among seven were killed, along with 33 individuals injured in a collision involving a tour bus carrying 27 passengers, a lorry, a trailer, a car and a multipurpose vehicle (MPV) at KM 204 of the North-South Highway near the Ayer Keroh rest stop.
Police reportedly said the front-right tyre of a Foton lorry, driven by a 31-year-old man, detached and ended up in the middle lane before the bus hit it, causing the lorry to lose control, skid into the opposite lane and collide into three other vehicles.
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