Abu Mansor Mohd, the 45-year-old lorry driver whose vehicle collided with the multipurpose vehicle (MPV) that was ferrying former DAP chairperson Karpal Singh early today, said that he did not know Karpal was one of the victims in the accident that claimed the 74-year-old veteran politician’s life.

“I heard a loud bang at the back of my lorry and I heard people shouting, so it shocked me,” Bernama quoted Abu Mansor as saying.

“I got out of the lorry and I was surprised to see that the MPV was badly damaged and there were those injured,” he said.

Abu Mansor said that he did not know Karpal was among the five people in the car.

“People who stopped at the side of the road to see the incident told me that the man was Karpal,” he reportedly said.

Abu Mansor said he was driving slowly on the fast lane due to the mountainous nature of that part of the highway.

Abu Mansor, who is from Petaling Jaya, was heading to Bukit Mertajam, Penang, to deliver cement and mosaic with his wife Nur Azlina Ahmad, 23, and a four-year-old child.

Abu Mansor only sustained minor injuries, while his wife and the child were not injured.

The crash killed Karpal and his personal assistant Michael Cornelius Jayakrishnan, while seriously injuring his Indonesian house helper.

His son Ram Karpal Singh and driver C Selvam sustained minor injuries.

Driver stops to help

A witness, Annas Kamaluddin, 38, said he and his employer who were on their way from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh did not expect Karpal Singh to be among the victims.     

"I saw a vehicle from the opposite lanes flashing its high beam and immediately slowed down and when I reached the scene, I saw the wreck of a white Alphard MPV in the middle of the road," he said.    

He said on seeing a victim lying on the road and others trapped in the MPV, he immediately call the emergency line.     

"About 30 metres away, I also saw a lorry that had signs it had been hit in the rear.     

"While waiting for help to arrive, we tried to control traffic, it was dark but the headlights of some vehicles that had stopped helped us in the task," he added.

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