IPOH: A 43-year-old doctor cheated death twice after his vehicle was involved in a eight-vehicle pile-up that claimed three lives at KM283.6 southbound of the North South Expressway, near here today.
Dr Sharifuddin Said who drove a black Honda Civic claimed that he saw a speeding tanker had lost control before ramming into his vehicle, a police patrol car, a superbike, and a black Proton Wira that been parked at the emergency lane.
“I was involved in an accident at about 8.30am after I lost control of my car and rammed into a road divider.
“As I was giving my statement to traffic police while the tow truck workers were towing my car, I saw a tanker crashing into several vehicles in front of it before charging towards us.
“As soon as I saw it, I ran towards the middle-lane to avoid the collision. The next thing I realised was the tanker had ploughed on the side of the road,” said the father of three.
Sharifuddin said he was lucky to be alive after getting involved in two major accidents within an hour.
“I thought I was going to die when my car skidded and rammed into a divider during the first accident.
“Thank god I managed to escape unhurt twice,” he said.
Superbike rider who is also Sharifuddin’s friend Mohd Faisal Soon, 36, said he was passing by and stopped to help.
“I saw his car (Sharifuddin) crashed on the emergency lane and stopped to help.
“Thank god, both of us managed to escape unhurt,” he said.
According to a Fire Rescue Department spokesman said victims identified as Mohd Fazli Malijan, 32, his son Muhammad Shamsul, 15 and Shamsul's cousin Muhammad Amirul Hakimi Abdullah, also 15.
It is learnt the deceased were tow truck workers.
The incident saw six others including two policemen sustaining injuries.
A police officer with the rank of Sergeant is reportedly in critical condition and was rushed to hospital by firemen.
