PETALING JAYA: The driver of the bus involved in the tragic accident that killed 15 students from Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI) in Gerik yesterday had accumulated a notable record of 18 traffic summonses, according to authorities.
Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri, the Federal Traffic Enforcement and Investigation Department director, told New Straits Times that checks on the driver’s history indicated 13 of these infractions were for speeding.
Other offenses included one accident-related summons, three for failing to wear a seatbelt, and one for a defective third brake light.
Further investigation into the vehicle itself unearthed an additional 21 traffic summonses associated with the bus. While five of these remain under active investigation, the others have reportedly been settled through the courts.
The bus was transporting 42 UPSI students from Jertih, Terengganu, yesterday to their university campus in Tanjung Malim when it was involved in a collision with a Perodua Alza on the East-West Highway.
The devastating incident claimed the lives of 13 students at the scene, with two more pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
An additional 28 students sustained injuries of varying degrees.
The bus driver, Mohd Amirul Fadhil Zulkifle, who is currently receiving treatment at Taiping Hospital, has reportedly extended an apology to the families of the victims and the injured students.
He attributed the crash to a sudden and unexpected failure of the vehicle’s brakes, claiming the air system also malfunctioned.
