BUTTERWORTH: While others were asleep, some passengers on an express bus heading to Jitra, which crashed into a road divider at KM152 of the North-South Expressway near Bukit Tambun, witnessed the whole incident.
The passengers boarded the bus from Terminal Bersepadu Selatan in Kuala Lumpur headed to Kedah last night.
One of the passengers, S. Pushpamala, was awake during the journey.
"He (the driver) only made one stop at Sungai Bakap and I went down to use the toilet for several minutes.
"About 20 minutes after we resumed our journey, the bus was going haywire, left to right.
"I panicked and shouted. Then the bus crashed onto the divider at the centre of the road," she said when met at Seberang Jaya Hospital.
Pushpamala escaped with minor injuries.
Norazah Azizan, 29, died as she was sandwiched in between the seats during the incident.
Pushpamala said the victim's mother called for help as others were trying to get out of the bus.
"She was stuck in between the seats, even I could not help. We waited until the firemen came to us," she said.
Ooi Yi Ping, 24, who was sitting behind the driver's seat, sustained bruises on her right eye.
She said that she was awake when the driver was shouting while he was on the road.
"It happened in the blink of an eye. Once I was awake, I saw the driver had lost control of his vehicle before crashing.
"The window was broken, that was my only route to come out," she said.
Seberang Perai Selatan Police Chief Supt Shafee Abdul Samad said the driver has three unsettled summonses.