KUALA LUMPUR: Panic caused a driver to speed away after colliding with a stopped vehicle at a police roadblock, police say.
Kuala Lumpur Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department chief Asst Comm Mohd Zamzuri Mohd Isa said today that the police were aware of a video of the incident that had been uploaded on social media. He added that the incident occurred on July 7 along the Sprint Highway near the Institut Intan.
"At the time of the incident officers were inspecting a car when another vehicle approached the roadblock," he said. "The driver of the second vehicle then tried to brake to avoid the collision but failed to do so."
He said the driver briefly stopped in front of the roadblock before driving off after misinterpreting the hand signal given by the responding police officer. The driver believed the officer was signalling him to continue, when in fact the signal was intended to direct him to pull over onto the road shoulder for inspection.
Both the driver and the vehicle owner later presented themselves to the police at the Jalan Tun H.S. Lee traffic police station at around 1.30am the same day. The driver is a 20-year-old local man, while the vehicle owner is the mother of the driver.
The driver stated that the sudden stop was due to the weather conditions and that he became nervous as he had never encountered a police roadblock before.
Investigations showed no contraband and the driver tested negative for alcohol. He was arrested today to assist with investigations.
"The investigation paper will be forwarded to the DPP office on July 13 for further instructions," Mohd Zamzuri said.
