KUALA LUMPUR: A 19-year-old youth died in a car crash on the Duke Highway near Setiawangsa, early this morning.
His friend, travelling together in the BMW car also sustained severe injuries in the 2.15am incident.
The deceased was identified as George Rahul Ariyanayakam who was driving the car with a female companion and believed to have lost control of the vehicle before it crashed and caught fire.
It is learnt that passersby who witnessed the incident called the fire and rescue department, before pulling both injured victims out of the burning wreckage.
A City Fire and Rescue spokesman said they received a distress call at 2.19am, before a team of five firefighters from Setapak were deployed to the scene.
"When the team led by commander officer Mohd Anuar Bin Ali arrived at the scene, the car was totally burnt and one of the victims, an adult male had been pronounced dead by the medical first aiders who arrived at the scene, while his friend was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance," he said.
He said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Meanwhile, in a post on social media, Datuk Redzuawan Ismail or better known as Chef Wan shared that the deceased was the son of his business partners and was like a son to him.
He said he was devastated by the news and he had rushed back to KL from abroad when he heard the news.
In the post, he said he received a text from his business partner Datuk Jasmine at 11am saying her eldest son George had passed away and they were rushing to the hospital to identify the body.
"I can't imagine how devastated both his parents are now" he wrote on his instagram.
Chef Wan said Jasmine and her husband Datuk Seri Leo were his business partners in their digital retail company Chef Wan Lifestyle.
"I was suppose to depart tomorrow and immediately took the first flight i can get on. He just completed his 0 levels...," he wrote adding that his mother always told him that he was the youth's source of inspiration and that he would look after him as a godfather, when they were no longer around.
Chef Wan said he could barely hold his tears as he made his way to the airport.
"I feel their loss and deep sadness. May his soul rest in peace and we pray that his girlfriend will recover from this devastating accident," he said.
He added that the accident allegedly happened when one of the car tires burst while on the victims were on their way home on the Duke Highway.