KUALA LUMPUR: Traffic heading towards Bangi is backed up for six kilometres following a fatal accident involving two heavy vehicles earlier today.
The incident at Km302.7 of the Plus Highway at about 4.30am saw a 10-tonne lorry driver killed when his vehicle crashed into a trailer lorry loaded with rubber wood lumber.
“The impact caused the 10-tonne lorry to burst into flames. The driver did not manage to escape his vehicle,” said Selangor Fire and Rescue Department operations officer Muhamad Hissam Sidik.
The body was sent to the Serdang Hospital for a post-mortem.
The trailer lorry driver and his assistant, both aged 28, escaped unhurt.
The department deployed 10 firemen from the Serdang police station to the scene upon receiving a distress call.
They managed to put out the fire which also consumed the trailer lorry, but the 10-tonne lorry was completely destroyed.
Kajang police chief Assistant Commissioner Dzaffir Mohd Yussof said police are in the midst of identifying the deceased and looking for next-of-kin.
“Initial investigation revealed that the trailer lorry, heading from Kuala Lipis to Nilai, had changed lanes from the left to the middle.
“The 10-tonne lorry, which was in the middle lane, did not manage to avoid the trailer and crashed into it,” he said in a statement.
When contacted, a Plus spokesman said traffic started to build up in the area at about 8am.
“Traffic is at a crawl in both directions for about six kilometres.
“Plus has opened a contraflow lane to ease the traffic,” he said.
The spokesman added that the 10-tonne lorry and lorry trailer have been removed from the road.
Police are investigating the case under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for causing death by dangerous or reckless driving.