SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): A 27-year-old driver of a Singapore-registered car is under investigation after he allegedly made an illegal U-turn on the Second Link highway in Johor, resulting in the death of a motorcyclist.
The incident, which took place at the 0.6km mark of the expressway on the evening of May 9, occurred after the red Maserati smashed into a metal barrier while making the U-turn at an opening in the road divider.
The impact sent shards of the barrier onto the road, triggering a four-vehicle crash.
A 26-year-old motorcyclist died after crashing into part of the barrier that had been dislodged from the road divider, said the Iskandar Puteri district police in a media statement on May 10.
According to dashcam footage of the crash, which has since gone viral on social media, the car ends up in the left-most lane in the opposite direction, towards Singapore. Moments later, a motorcyclist is seen in a collision with the debris.
The motorcyclist fell onto the road shoulder and died on the spot from severe head and leg injuries, the police said.
The victim’s motorcycle storage box fell onto another lane and was hit by two other motorcycles, the police added, although both the riders were not injured.
Several road users attacked the Maserati driver with helmets before police arrived at the scene, according to the police statement.
The incident is being investigated under Malaysia’s Road Transport Act for reckless driving causing death, as well as Section 324 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt with a weapon, the police said.
A video uploaded on Facebook page SG Road Vigilante, which had garnered more than 380,000 views as at 6pm on May 10, shows several motorcyclists shouting while surrounding the car and hitting it with their helmets. In subsequent images, the car can be seen with a shattered windscreen and a damaged bonnet.
The Second Link highway, which connects Malaysia and Singapore, is a key artery for cross-border traffic, linking Singapore’s Tuas Checkpoint to the Malaysian state of Johor.
It stretches about 2km over the Strait of Johor and serves as one of the main routes for vehicles travelling between the two countries. - The Straits Times/ANN
