PAPAR: Two lorry drivers were killed when they were hit by a vehicle while changing a tyre in an incident on the shoulder of Pan Borneo Highway, at Kilometer 9, Jalan Lama Papar-Kota Kinabalu, on Saturday (March 22).
In the incident, which happened at about 2pm, the two men, aged 26 and 62, were pronounced dead at the scene due to severe injuries.
Papar district police chief, Superintendent Kamaruddin Ambo Sakka, said the initial investigation revealed that one of the victims had stopped on the roadside and got out after discovering a tyre issue with his vehicle.
"While the victim was attempting to change the tyre, a friend who is also a lorry driver stopped at the location to assist him.
"However, a car driven by a 23-year-old man coming from Kota Kinabalu towards Kimanis suddenly lost control.
"The driver hit both victims who were changing the tyre on the right front side of the lorry," he said when contacted by Sinar Harian on Saturday.
He added that the victims' bodies were taken to the Papar Hospital Forensic Unit for post-mortem examination.
"Meanwhile, the driver and passenger of the Proton Saga sustained only minor injuries and were taken to Papar Hospital for treatment," he said.
