MIRI: Three people were killed, while another four people including a three-year-old toddler were seriously injured when a four-wheel drive vehicle crashed into three signboards at the Pan Borneo Highway after one of its tyres exploded yesterday.
Miri district police chief Assistant Commissioner Alexson Naga Chabu said the 34 year-old driver of the Isuzu Dmax lost control of the vehicle after a right rear tyre exploded in the 6.30pm incident at Km 826.5 of the Miri-Bintulu stretch of the highway near Suai in Niah.
The crashed happened as the people in the vehicle were travelling from here to Bintulu, which is located 200km away.
He said initial investigations showed that six out of the total seven people in the vehicle were flung to the road as Isuzu Dmax mowed down three signboards before coming to a stop in a ditch in front of a longhouse.
The Fire and Rescue Service Department, which despatched an emergency medical rescue service (EMRS), fast response (FRV) vehicles and fire and rescue tender (FRT) from its Batu Niah and Lopeng stations, said the dead were identified as Evelyn Shely Manyie, 26; Eddy Indau , also 26, and Jenging Tinsok, 39.
Alexson said all three died on the spot.
The four who survived with serious injuries were the driver, Garry Galviston Mantau, Kulam Letan (male), 36; Scrivia J. Sylvester (female), 39; and the toddler, Evva Shakilla Bandai Evelyn Shely.
Alexson said the vehicle was badly damaged as a result of mowing down the signboards.
The case is investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.