Bus driver crashes vehicle to save lives

GEORGE TOWN: Driver D. Asoghan was sending 45 factory workers to work in his bus just before 6am when he realised the brakes had failed.

He had to do something to slow down the vehicle, which was moving along the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu expressway near the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone.

On approaching a junction, he ran over a barricade and shouted for everyone to duck before the bus crashed onto a T-shaped support column of an elevated road, which was still under construction.

The impact sheared off the bus roof and the vehicle finally came to a halt 150m away.

His quick decision probably saved the lives of his passengers and himself. Twenty-one of the passengers were warded, including two who are in critical condition, while the rest received outpatient treatment.

Recounting the incident: Traffic police officers talking to Asoghan (centre) at the Penang General Hospital after the crash near the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone. 

Asoghan, 49, said the bus would not stop no matter how hard he stepped on the brakes.

“I had two choices – to take a hard right (into Hilir Sungai Kluang) which would cause the bus to topple over or go straight and ram the barricade.

“I crashed through the barrier and used the support column to slow the bus down. The roof came off, but it stopped the bus,” he said yesterday. Asoghan received outpatient treatment for a minor head injury.

Fire and Rescue Department personnel took nearly an hour to free the passengers, some of whom were trapped in their seats after the 5.55am accident yesterday.

Bayan Baru fire station officer-in-charge Rohizad Yusof said the passengers were all Indonesians and most of them women.

“Some victims sustained spinal injuries and pelvic dislocations,” he added.

Horrifying ordeal: Fire and Rescue Department personnel tending to a victim after the crash. — ZHAFARAN
NASIB / The Star

Penang police chief Senior Deputy Comm Datuk Wira Abdul Rahim Hanafi said the case was being investigated under the Road Transport Act for reckless driving.

Passenger Ade Sofitri, who suffered minor injuries on her face and leg, said she was asleep before the crash.

“I woke up when I heard people shouting tunduk! (duck),” she added.

Another passenger Julita Nababan, 30, was glued to her handphone when she heard the bus driver yelling to everyone to duck.

She described the accident as a horrifying experience.

Penang Agriculture, Agro-based Industry, Rural Development and Health Committee chairman Dr Afif Bahardin said the Penang Hospital had set aside two emergency wards for the 21 who were warded.

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