Made it! Frantic USM student gets to convocation thanks to good Samaritan

GEORGE TOWN: A Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) undergraduate had to hitch a ride from a motorcyclist to get to his convocation after his car was caught in a traffic jam at the Penang Bridge, here.

R. Kevin, 28, said he and his parents were on the way to the convocation ceremony when their vehicle got stuck in a bad traffic snarl shortly after they left home in Seberang Jaya on Tuesday (May 24) morning.

"I was told later that there was a fatal accident on the bridge. We had purposely left the house at 6.30am as we wanted to be early for my convocation.

"It was already 9am when I decided to take a chance and tried to hitch a ride from a passing motorcyclist. Luckily, I did not have to wait long before one stopped to give me a ride," he wrote on USM's Facebook page.

A picture of Kevin holding his graduation robe trying to hitch a ride went viral on USM's Facebook with more than 3,000 likes and 179 shares as at 3pm.

He managed to make it to his convocation on time after the USM management delayed the convocation for 30 minutes to 10.30am as there were other graduates who were also caught in the jam.

In the accident, two men were killed in a crash between a lorry and a trailer at KM8.6 of the island-bound lane of the Penang Bridge early on Tuesday.

State Fire and Rescue Department spokesperson said a 39-year old lorry driver and his 19 year-old co-driver were killed on the spot during the incident that occurred at about 5am.

The victims were trapped in their vehicle after crashing into the trailer from behind. They died on the spot.