KOTA MARUDU: A nine-year-old girl died and nine other people injured in a horrific head-on collision between a four-wheel-drive (4WD) vehicle and a three-tonne lorry here.
Rebecca Grace Tintingon breathed her last at the district hospital’s emergency unit at 2am yesterday, some nine hours after the accident on Christmas Day.
Kota Marudu OCPD Supt Zairolnizal Ishak said the girl was in the front passenger seat of the 4WD driven by her mother, 48, who suffered multiple fractures.
Another 15-year-old girl in the vehicle had a fractured leg.
“There were seven people in the vehicle when it collided with the lorry on Kota Marudu-Pitas road around 4.45pm on Monday,” he said.
He said the 43-year-old lorry driver was seriously injured and suffered a broken thigh bone while two of his passengers had minor injuries.
Supt Zairolnizal said initial investigations revealed that the lorry driver was carrying a load of oil palm to Langkon while the 4WD was travelling from Penampang to Kanibungan, Pitas.
“The driver lost control of the vehicle and veered into the opposite lane before crashing into the oncoming lorry,” he said, adding that both vehicles overturned on impact.
Three people, who were stuck inside the wreckage of the 4WD, were helped out by the firemen.
Supt Zairolnizal said the injured victims were taken to Kota Marudu Hospital for treatment.
Police are investigating the incident under Section 43(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for careless and inconsiderate driving.
