JITRA: What was supposed to have been a happy first wedding anniversary celebration turned out to be a tragic outing for a family of three who died after the car they were travelling in collided with a lorry laden with sand and gravel.
Textile trader Benyamin Yaakub, 30, his wife Normah Isa, 29, and their six-month-old baby girl Ilnu Balkis Benyamin, were on the way to Jitra town from Normah’s mother’s house in Kampung Permatang Bongor about 20km away when the accident happened at about 5pm yesterday
Kubang Pasu OCPD Supt Sawaluddin Haminuddin said yesterday the couple and their baby girl were travelling in a Proton Wira and had stopped at the Jalan Kodiang-Jalan Jitra traffic lights. A Naza Sutera car was behind them.
“The lorry coming from the Jitra Hospital roundabout is believed to have encountered problems and rammed into several cars before jumping a divider and hitting both the cars waiting at the traffic lights junction.
“The Proton Wira was dragged for about 50m before both vehicles came to a halt after hitting the retaining wall of the Bazaar Mara Jitra building at Jalan Kodiang,” he said. The Proton Wira was a complete wreck.
The bazaar is a two-storey building with a coffee-shop located on the ground floor.
Supt Sawaluddin said the Naza Sutera, in which couple Othman Bakar, 50, and his wife Noor Zarena Bakar, 47, were travelling in had overturned near the traffic lights junction after being hit by the lorry.
“Othman, who was driving, is in coma at the Alor Star Hospital while his wife received treatment for minor injuries,” he said.
The 34-year-old lorry driver, who sustained minor injuries, has been detained for questioning.
Supt Sawaluddin said a total of five cars were involved in the accident.
Jitra Fire and Rescue Services Department chief Lee Ah Hing said the department received a call about the accident at 5.20pm and it took firemen 30 minutes to extricate the bodies from the wreckage.
An eye-witness Nur Azelin Mansor, 42, who was having tea at the bazaar, said she heard two loud crashes.
“I ran out and was shocked to see what looked like half a car stuck to the front of a lorry at the bazaar’s retaining wall,” she said.
Normah’s mother Siti Bedah Huzin, 48, who rushed to the hospital mortuary after being informed of the accident by a relative, said she last spoke to her daughter at about 4pm yesterday.
“I advised both my daughter and son-in-law not to take their baby girl out because it was too hot but they insisted on going out,” she sobbed.
Siti Bedah said the couple who were staying in Cherating, Pahang, had come to her house a few days ago for a holiday.
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