Taxi crash causes shock for Merdeka Day Fun Ride participants

PETALING JAYA: The hearts of cyclists gathered in front of Summit USJ for the Merdeka Day Fun Ride here must have stopped when they heard loud tyre screeches followed by a crash.
While the 500 cyclists were about to start their 20km journey around Subang Jaya and USJ, a taxi travelling on Persiaran Kewajipan towards USJ spun out of control and hit the guard rails outside the shopping centre.
The vehicle then bounced off the guard rails and hit a traffic police motorcycle which was among a group of policeman assigned to direct traffic for the cycling event at 7.30am.
Fortunately, no one was hurt during the incident, with the taxi sustaining light damage to the front and rear bumpers on the right side and a blown rear tyre on the left side, and the police motorcycle was not visibly damaged.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a traffic policeman there said it is unclear what caused the accident but the taxi driver was likely speeding.
"He said he wasn't speeding, but I don't believe him. He wouldn't have lost control otherwise. It could have also been the blown tyre. We won't know for certain until we investigate further," he said.
The driver, visibly agitated about the incident, blamed the cyclists for causing a distraction which caused him to lose control and said he was not aware that such an event will be taking place there.
The group of cyclists left on their 20km tour shortly after.
Meanwhile, Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh commended the USJ 1 Residents' Committee (JKP) 3 for successfully organising the event, which drew more cyclists as compared to last year's inaugural event.