IPOH - A trailer driver involved in a seven-vehicle pileup which saw four of a family dead at Kilometre 277.1 of the North-South Expressway near Ipoh on Wednesday was arrested for investigations.
Perak Police chief Datuk Mior Faridalathrash Wahid said the arrest of the 34-year-old man was made to aid the investigation into the case under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for causing death by reckless driving.
He said the past records revealed the man had 13 traffic violations from 2008 to 2021.
"Three of the summonses were involved in road accidents in 2012, 2020 and 2021.
"Urine tests revealed that the man was not driving under the influence of drugs," he said in a statement.
He said investigations showed the trailer, which was not carrying any load and was en route from Taiping to Bukit Beruntung, had crashed into the victim's vehicle from the back.
The Proton Persona with the four family members slid and crashed into five other vehicles.
"The driver, a 60-year-old man, his wife in the passenger seat and two daughters at the back were pronounced dead at the scene.
"The incident also saw five other vehicles experiencing major damages but the drivers and passengers were uninjured,” he said.
Those with information regarding the accident could contact the investigation officer Inspector Mohd Tarmini Che Hassan on the line 013-5949441 to aid the investigation.
The incident took place at about 3pm while the victims’ family was on the way to Kuala Lumpur from Sungai Petani, Kedah.
The victims were identified as retired police Corporal Rahim Ramli, 60, his wife, Siti Petimah Omar, 59 and their two daughters, Nor Nadirah, 28 and Nor Hamizah, 27.
Post mortems were conducted at Raja Permaisuri Bainun hospital in Ipoh and the bodies were brought to Permatang Pasir, Permatang Pauh in Penang last night to be buried.