Gerik bus crash: 'I'm sorry,' says driver with 18 summonses

Summary

• Police reveal driver in fatal Gerik bus crash has 18 outstanding traffic summonses, mostly for speeding; bus itself has 21 summonses.

• Driver blames crash on sudden brake and air system failure, apologises to victims’ families, saying he did all he could to avoid the accident.

• Bus operator says drivers were vetted and experienced, denies hiring at random.

Police have confirmed that the bus driver involved in the fatal crash on the East-West Highway near Tasik Banding, Gerik, had previously been issued 18 summonses, a majority of which were for speeding.

Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department director Yusri Hassan Basri said of the 18 summonses, 13 were for speeding, while another three were over his failure to put on a seat belt.

While two other summonses involved a previous accident and a missing third brake light, Yusri said all 18 summonses have yet to be settled.

He added that the bus involved in yesterday’s incident, which claimed the lives of 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (Upsi) students, had a record of 21 traffic summonses.

“Of these, 16 have resulted in convictions while the remaining five are still under investigation,” he was quoted as saying by Harian Metro.

‘Sudden break failure’

According to a report by Berita Harian, the 39-year-old driver apologised to the families of the victims and the students involved in the crash.

Blaming the incident on a “sudden brake failure”, the driver reportedly said that the bus’ air system also failed while its handbrake was unresponsive.

“I wasn’t speeding, especially since we were going downhill. I was trying to avoid crashing into other cars… I did all I could to prevent the worst.

“In all my years of driving, this is the first accident I’ve had that involved fatalities. I feel an overwhelming sense of guilt,” he was quoted as saying.

Proper vetting done

Following the incident, the owner of the company that operated the bus said the firm has never hired bus drivers at random without undergoing proper vetting processes.

Syarikat Kenari Utara operations officer Nazri Nawi also said the two drivers involved in the crash, one of whom was a replacement driver loaned from another company, are “experienced”, with clean records and no known use of illegal substances.

In the crash, which occurred between 12.30am and 1am, the chartered bus travelling from Jertih, Terengganu, to Tanjung Malim, Perak, collided with a Perodua Alza from behind before losing control and skidding off the road and into the highway railings.

The crash also left 33 others injured, including the bus driver and his assistant, as well as the driver and three passengers of the Perodua Alza.

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