KUCHING: A suspected drunk man wreaked havoc at the parking lot of a commercial centre when he crashed his car into six vehicles, resulting in three of them bursting into flames early yesterday.
AFTERMATH: Firemen inspect the burnt vehicles at the scene after putting out the blaze.
The incident took place around 12.30am at the Travillion commercial centre in Padungan when the yet-to-be-identified driver of a Perodua Myvi rammed his way past three parked cars at the parking lot as he attempted to make his way out of the area.
He then crashed into the rear of a Perodua Kelisa, which caused the latter vehicle to slam into the rear of a BMW X5 and a Toyota Hilux parked nearby.
The Hilux belonged to five friends who had only arrived in the area 30 minutes prior to the incident, while the luxury car was said to belong to a grandson of a local businessman.
Despite the multiple collision, the offending Myvi driver did not stop and sped away from the carnage.
But he did not make it very far when he lost control of his car and plunged into a small ravine.
He then fled the scene on foot as the victims of his reckless act exited from their damaged vehicles to assess the situation.
One of them, a local woman in her 20s, who was a passenger in the Kelisa, told reporters that her car, along with the BMW and the Hilux, burst into flames about 15 minutes after the collision.
She and her friend, who is a foreign student at a local university, said they were extremely lucky not to have been hurt in the incident and lambasted the drunk driver for endangering the lives of other motorists with his reckless act.
Firemen from the nearby Padungan fire station rushed to the scene moments after the fire broke out and controlled the situation in a matter of minutes.
However, they were unable to prevent the three vehicles from being destroyed by the fire.
District traffic police officers were present to document and investigate the incident, and are also currently tracking down the culprit.