LAHAD DATU: Five men, a prisoner among them, sustained serious injuries after a Prisons Department van collided head on with a Toyota Ninja King vehicle at Km 36 of Jalan Lahad Datu-Tawau on Monday.
Lahad Datu police chief ACP Shamsudin Mat disclosed that in the about 4.30pm incident, a Prisons Department van, coming from Tawau to Lahad Datu, was transporting four prisoners accompanied by four police personnel to attend a court trial here.
“Initial findings revealed that the van collided head on with a Toyota Ninja vehicle that was heading towards Tawau from Lahad Datu while negotiating a bend at Km 36 of Jalan Lahad Datu-Tawau.
“From the impact of the crash, the driver and the passenger of the Toyota Ninja vehicle, a prisoner and two police
personnel sustained serious injuries and were immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment,” he said.
Shamsudin said the cause of the head-on collision was probably due to slippery condition of the road brought about by the rain. He added that the case would be investigated under Section 43(1) of Road Transport Act.
Shamsudin would like to remind road users especially to drive carefully during the fasting month and the upcoming Hari Raya in order to avoid any untoward incidents.
Meanwhile, the Lahad Datu fire and rescue department chief, Mohd Apandi Mahmood, said his department received a distress call at 4.20 pm and immediately despatched his personnel to the scene.
According to Apandi, upon arrival at the scene about 45 minutes later his personnel immediately took steps to extricate the van driver who trapped in his seat.
“The injured driver was then sent to the district hospital for treatment,” he added.