PETALING JAYA: The 21-year-old Toyota Vios driver who was involved in the deadly Penang Bridge high speed crash, which resulted in the death of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) driver, has been detained.
Central Seberang Prai district police chief Asst Comm Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid confirmed the detention in a statement to media, after the man had presented himself to the cops.
He said the suspect, who is reportedly a hair stylist and who earlier tested positive for marijuana, surrendered himself to the police traffic department in the Seberang Prai Utara district police headquarters at about 2am while accompanied by his family.
“The hair stylist has since been detained to facilitate investigations,“ he said.
So far, a total of 15 statements have been recorded in relation to this case, while the probe would focus on the suspicion of reckless driving under Section 41 of the Road Transport Act 1987.
The maximum penalty for reckless driving is 10 years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of RM20,000.
In the pre-dawn mishap on Sunday along the bridge’s route towards Butterworth, the Vios collided at high speed with the SUV, causing the latter to spin and plunge backwards over the quad rails, splashing into the Penang Channel here.
Rescuers took over two days to locate the wreckage and the 1.5 ton vehicle was lifted out by a crane on Tuesday where the driver, identified as Moey Yun Peng, aged, 20, was found dead while still strapped to his seat.
A short clip captured on the dashboard camera of a trailing vehicle depicted the crash, and it has since gone viral after it was uploaded hours after the incident was reported.
Nik Ros Azhan said the post-mortem showed Moey drowned after he was unable to free himself from the SUV.
The Vios driver also sustained injuries, but he was able to be discharged from the private hospital where he had sought treatment.
