Car in fatal Gerik crash went into opposite lane, say police

A fatal crash in Gerik, Perak, which killed four people, including a child, is believed to have occurred after their car went out of control and crashed into a lorry on the opposite lane, police said.

Perak police chief Alwi Zainal Abidin said the accident involved a Perodua Axia, a Hino lorry and a Proton Persona on the East-West Highway near Tasik Banding at about 1.30pm today.

He said preliminary investigations found that the Axia was driven by a 19-year-old man and was carrying four passengers – a 31-year-old man, a 40-year-old woman and two children.

They were travelling from Gerik towards Jeli, Kelantan. At the same time, a Persona, driven by a 20-year-old man with three passengers, was travelling from Jeli towards Gerik, while a lorry driven by a 42-year-old man with a 34-year-old male attendant was also travelling in the same direction.

“The Axia is believed to have gone out of control, entered the opposite lane and hit the rear of the Persona before crashing into the front of the lorry behind. The impact caused the Axia to become wedged underneath the lorry, which dragged it for about three to seven metres,” Bernama quoted him as saying tonight.

Alwi said four of those in the Axia died at the scene while another child was seriously injured. The driver and passengers of the Persona, as well as the lorry driver and attendant, were not injured.

“Efforts to identify independent witnesses and obtain CCTV and dashcam footage, if available, are under way,” he said.