Penang Bridge crash: Vios driver tests positive for drugs

Rescuers found a car badly damaged but its driver only lightly injured. They have not been able to ascertain the status of occupants in the other vehicle.

BUTTERWORTH: The 21-year-old driver of the Toyota Vios which collided with a Mazda CX-5 SUV on the Penang Bridge on Sunday has been tested positive for cannabis.

Central Seberang Prai OCPD Asst Comm Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid said besides showing traces of the drug, the police have taken his blood sample to test for any traces of alcohol.

ACP Nik Ros said the driver is currently receiving treatment at a private hospital for injuries to his head, arms and legs.

The driver had earlier received treatment at the Seberang Jaya Hospital and was discharged, but fainted at home before being rushed to the private hospital.

The driver of the SUV that plunged into the sea after the collision with the Vios at 2.54am on Sunday (Jan 20) has been identified as college student Moey Yun Peng, 20.

Investigations revealed that both drivers are childhood friends and believed to have been speeding towards the mainland before the collision which led to the SUV losing control, swerving into the left barricade and plunging into the sea.

The duo had earlier attended a friend's birthday party at a club in Chulia Street in George Town with other friends who live on the island.

Search and rescue operations for Moey and the SUV resumed at 7am Monday (Jan 21).