KUALA LUMPUR – The fatal accident along the freeway to IOI City Mall, Putrajaya, which has caused the deaths of two individuals so far, involved a convoy rehearsing for the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) race, according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
Speaking to reporters after an event at the Tun Razak Exchange here today, Loke said that the matter was confirmed by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
“I was told that it wasn’t a roadblock, but traffic police were there to stop cars to ensure that a convoy could pass by the road.
“The convoy was not for any VIPs, but it was an LTdL rehearsal. This was confirmed to me by (Yeoh),” Loke said.
The accident, which occurred at around 10.15am this morning, saw a lorry ramming into several vehicles, including a police outrider’s motorcycle, killing two motorcyclists upon impact.
Based on CCTV footage of the incident circulated on social media, several cars were stopped on the highway to make way for traffic police escorting a convoy.
Moments later, a lorry appeared and attempted to change lanes while slowing down but failed to brake in time to avoid slamming into six cars, three motorcycles, a police outrider’s motorcycle and two lorries.
According to a spokesperson from the Putrajaya’s Fire and Rescue Department, in addition to the death of the two motorcyclists, nine others also suffered injuries and were rushed to the Putrajaya Hospital and Serdang Hospital for treatment.
The first out of eight stages of the LTdL race will take place on Saturday, covering 187.4km from Kerteh to Kuala Terengganu.
Meanwhile, Loke added that the Road Transport Department has been instructed to investigate if the lorry in the accident was overloaded as videos of the incident have raised questions on why the lorry did not manage to brake on time.
“From the pictures I’ve seen (of the accident), the lorry looked quite overloaded. If it was overloaded, its breaks would have been impacted.
“This was a very unfortunate incident and we’re very sad about it. All investigation procedures and steps will be followed through accordingly,” Loke said. – September 20, 2023