REMBAU: Two people were killed in separate accidents on the Ayer Keroh-Senawang stretch of the North-South Expressway near here early Wednesday (Feb 5).
In the first accident just past midnight, a 35-year-old man was killed in an accident involving a bus, lorry, pickup truck, car and a superbike at KM232.2 of the highway.
Rembau police chief Supt Shaik Abd Kadar Shaik Mohamed said the accident happened when a bus heading from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur crashed into the rear of a lorry.
"This caused the drivers of both vehicles to lose control and veer to the right lane.
"A pick-up truck and a car which were behind then crashed into the heavy vehicles," he said in a statement.
Supt Shaik Abd Kadar said due to the crash, a spare wheel from the pick-up truck hurtled into the opposite lane and crashed into an oncoming superbike.
"The motorcyclist could not avoid the tyre in time and crashed into it," he said, adding that the victim died on the spot due to serious head injuries.
He identified the victim as 35-year-old mechanic Muhammad Taqiyyuddin Zulkifli from Rawang, Selangor.
He said the victim's remains were sent to the Rembau Hospital for post-mortem.
Supt Shaik Abd Kadar said three lorries were involved in the second incident along KM230.3 of the same stretch just after 4am.
He said a lorry carrying coconuts first crashed into the rear of another lorry carrying cakes and pastries which had slowed down due to heavy traffic.
"A third lorry transporting polystyrene products which was trailing the one laden with coconuts could not stop in time and crashed into it.
"The crash caused the driver of the second lorry to be pinned in between the heavy vehicles," he said.
He identified the victim as 51-year-old Zaidi Md Hashim from Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Supt Shaik Abd Kadar said the victim's 16-year-old and 14-year-old sons who were also in the lorry suffered serious head injuries and were rushed to Rembau Hospital.
The drivers and attendants of the two other lorries escaped injury.
Both cases, he said, were being probed under Section 41 of the Road Transport Act 1987.