KUALA LUMPUR: The driver of a RapidKL bus which left a trail of destruction after speeding and ploughing through vehicles along Jalan Ampang here last night is believed to have been in a panic.
Based on several videos which have gone viral, the driver was being pursued by a group of angry men on motorcycles.
According to one eyewitness who posted an account of the event on his Facebook page, the incident began several kilometres away at a traffic light junction at AU Keramat, where the bus had swerved to avoid hitting a motorcycle.
However, in evading a collision with the motorcycle, the bus grazed the corner of a roadside burger stall located near the junction.
The netizen, who goes by the handle ‘Malaysia30,’ claimed that a woman who is the mother of the burger stall operator was startled by the impact of the bus, so much so that the dropped a baby boy she was holding in her arms.
“The bus driver had stopped at the scene (and alighted the bus) to check on the damage to the stall as well as the condition of the woman and the infant.
“However, he then noticed that the stall operator and a group of men from a nearby flat (which the stall operator had summoned) were charging towards him. The driver immediately fled the scene,” Malaysia30 said.
The bus driver sped off in his RapidKL bus, while the stall operator and the group of men gave chase on their motorcycles.
The stall operator recorded the chase and the events that followed and uploaded them to social media.
“It is clear in the video recorded by the stall operator that the bus driver was in a state of panic, (which is why he drove) his vehicle in a dangerous manner,” the netizen added.
In his bid to escape the motorcyclists, the speeding bus manoeuvred dangerously through traffic and crashed into seven cars as it sped down Jalan Ampang before coming to a stop at the Jalan Ampang-MRR2 junction.
It was reported that at least four people were injured in the 8.30pm accident.
Unable to drive any further, the driver escaped the vehicle and tried to flee, but was apprehended by the angry motorcyclists.
“The bus driver was jeered at before the group became aggressive and kicked and punched him.
“There were members of the group who were armed with wooden sticks during the assault.
“The clip (recorded by the burger stall operator) was only half (of what had happened during the assault). The bus driver was severely injured when the ambulance arrived at the scene,” said the social media user.
The netizen described the burger stall operator as having “gone overboard,” especially considering that his stall was not badly damaged and no one was injured in the first incident.
Meanwhile, City police Traffic Enforcement Investigation Department chief Assistant Commissioner Zulkefly Yahya said an investigation will be conducted if evidence suggests that foul play was involved in the attack against the bus driver.
“However, the investigation can only be carried out if the bus driver or witnesses of the entire incident would come forward and lodge a police report,” he told the NSTP.
The bus driver, 32, has been arrested to facilitate an investigation into the accident.
He is being treated for head and bodily injuries under police custody at the Ampang Hospital here.