Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh.
KAMPAR: The multi-purpose vehicle carrying Karpal Singh and several others was travelling “too close” behind a lorry before the accident which killed the DAP leader and his aide last year, a magistrate’s court was told.
Karpal’s son and Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh said the vehicle was moving from the right lane into the left, where the lorry was travelling on.
“With such a close distance and fast speed, I knew we were going to collide in seconds,” he said yesterday in the trial of their driver C. Selvam, who was charged with reckless driving which caused the deaths of Karpal and Michael Cornelius at 11.30pm on April 17.
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| Karpal Singh's Driver C Selvam |
The Indian national was released in August last year after a bail of RM5,000 was posted for him.
Karpal and Michael were killed on the spot when their MPV collided with a five-tonne lorry at 306th km near Gua Tempurung on the North-South Expressway.
Ramkarpal and Selvam had minor injuries while a domestic helper, affectionately known as Siti, was badly hurt.
Ramkarpal said he jumped over to hold his father from behind, adding that he could only reach his father’s right shoulder while he remained shielded behind the front passenger seat during the impact.
“I was afraid and although I could not see anything in the dark, I could feel that our MPV had swirled 360 degrees several times before coming to a halt.
“While holding my father’s body, I had also called out to Siti when it sounded like she was crying at the back of the car, but she did not respond to me as well,” he said.
Ramkarpal said after the accident, he could not bring himself to part with his father's body.
He said although the right side of his father’s body looked fine, he was seriously injured on the left side.
“I fought back tears, I kept shaking him, shouting ‘Are you okay. Please wake up’ to both my father and Michael, but they did not respond,” he told magistrate Mohamad Ibrahim Mohammad Ghulan
Ramkarpal said a kind firefighter consoled him shortly after, asking him to let go of Karpal’s body so that they could lift him out of the car.
Ramkarpal, 38, who is Karpal’s third son, was replying to a question by DPP Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim who asked him to describe the accident.
He was seated directly behind Selvam, who was driving at the time, while Karpal was seated at the front passenger seat, with Michael sitting directly behind Karpal.
Their domestic helper was seated behind Michael.
“It has always been the norm for Michael to sit behind Karpal so that he could assist him while they were travelling on the road. We started the journey from Kuala Lumpur back to Penang around 11.30pm on April 16, and I had a 30-minute long discussion with my father in the car before he fell asleep.
“I asked Selvam a few times whether he was tired and offered to take over, but he told me he was not,” he said.
The hearing continues today.
The Star
