Immigration truck crash in KL leaves father, two daughters dead

A 53-year-old father and his two daughters were killed on the spot after an Immigration Department truck hit them in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

According to a police preliminary investigation, the 1am incident occurred when the truck was rushing to pick up a group of suspected illegal immigrants scooped up during an operation in Chow Kit.

With its siren blaring, the truck driven by a 43-year-old officer ran a red light at the junction near the Maju Junction shopping complex on Jalan Sultan Ismail. It was rammed by a Proton Saga travelling straight through the junction when the traffic light in his direction was green.

Kuala Lumpur police Traffic Enforcement and Investigation Department chief Zamzuri Isa said the Saga driver was believed to have been unable to avoid the collision, resulting in the car crashing into the lorry in the middle of the junction.

"As a result of the collision, the lorry lost control and veered off course before hitting four pedestrians from the same family, as well as an Inokom Matrix driven by a 38-year-old Malay man, which stopped at the traffic light junction at the time of the incident.

"The crash resulted in three members of the family being killed at the scene. They were a 53-year-old Malay man, the father, and his two daughters - a 25-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl," he said in a media statement.

The fourth victim - who is the wife of the man and mother to the women killed - sustained serious injuries to her head, right hand and both legs.

She was taken to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital's red zone for treatment.

Zamzuri said police have arrested the drivers of the Immigration Department truck and Proton Saga involved to facilitate investigation under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act.

Both have since tested negative for alcohol and drugs.

Take appropriate action

The tragic incident has also drawn the attention of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

In a Facebook post this morning, he expressed condolences to the family and instructed the Immigration Department to carry out a thorough investigation into the crash.

"If there was any element of negligence or violation of the law, appropriate action must be taken without compromise. Al-Fatihah," Anwar said.

Following this, Immigration Department director-general Zakaria Shaaban, when contacted by Malaysiakini, said it will launch an internal probe into the case based on the department's standard operating procedures.

"The police are investigating the crash, including to identify who is at fault in this incident," he said.

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