Van crash along road

Desperate metal thieves are at work again. And this time to dire consequences as the metal guardrails could have saved a life if not for the missing guardrails stolen by thieves. Read on the news from Star newspaper...

Van driver dies in crash
Thursday March 1, 2007

Ipoh: A computer technician died after his van plunged into a 25m-deep ravine at Km32 of the Simpang Pulai-Kampung Raja road near Pos Slim.

The body of M. Sharma Das was found some 10m away from the vehicle yesterday.

The accident was believed to have occurred sometime on Tuesday as a receipt found in the vehicle showed that the victim had exited the Simpang Pulai toll plaza at 11am that day.

Ipoh traffic chief Asst Supt Razali Bakar said the 33-year-old man might have lived if not for the theft of guardrails along the stretch of road leading to Cameron Highlands.

He said the victim was believed to have lost control of the vehicle, possibly due to a punctured tyre, while travelling uphill alone.

“The van might not have ended up in the ravine if not for the missing guardrails,” he said.

ASP Razali said family members found the van belonging to the victim’s company after combing the road in search of him yesterday.

“The victim had been missing since Tuesday. He was last seen at his office here before leaving for Cameron Highlands for work,” he said.

When contacted, state Infras-tructure and Public Utilities Committee chairman Datuk Ho Cheng Wang said the problem of missing guardrails along that stretch of road had been discovered a few months' back.

“As the road came under the purview of the Federal Government, we made a request for them to be replaced.

“However, the contractor engaged to maintain federal roads had yet to take any action,” he added.
- The Star.