Daily Express Subscriber
Sign in to your account.

KALABAKAN: A 65-year-old local man died after the four-wheel drive (4WD) he was driving, carrying baulu fish from Tawau to Keningau, was involved in an accident at Batu 9, Jalan Kalabakan, on Tuesday.

District police chief ACP Jasmin Hussin said the victim was thrown out through the vehicle’s front windscreen before landing in a small drain on the left shoulder of the road.

He said a 40-year-old foreign male passenger was trapped in the front seat and was successfully extricated by personnel from the Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM).

Police at the Tawau district police headquarters received information on the incident at about 4.30pm, with initial reports indicating the accident involved a Toyota Hilux 4WD believed to have skidded on its own.

Preliminary investigations found the driver and his assistant were travelling from Tawau to Keningau with a load of baulu fish, also known as milkfish, and prawns when the driver is believed to have lost control at a bend, causing the vehicle to veer onto the left shoulder, spin and come to a stop in a drain.

A medical officer from Klinik Kalabakan later confirmed the driver’s death at the scene, while the passenger sustained head injuries and was taken to Tawau Hospital for further treatment, with the case being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.