SUV Involved In Crash That Killed Six Family Members Was Newly Purchased

SUNGAI PETANI, June 7 (Bernama) -- The sport utility vehicle (SUV) involved in a road accident that killed six family members at Pinang Tunggal here this afternoon had just been purchased and delivered earlier today.

A family member, Ibrahim Ghazali, 39, said the vehicle, a Proton X50, belonged to his brother-in-law Ahmad Fahim Ahmad Shukri, 21, but was being driven by Ahmad Fahim's brother, Ahmad Shafiq, 27, at the time of the accident.

Ibrahim said his son, Iskandar Arfan, seven, was travelling with Ahmad Fahim, Ahmad Shafiq and four others to Merbok near here to visit the grave of his late father-in-law when the accident occurred. 

“Earlier this afternoon, they stopped by my house in Bertam Putra, Penang, to pick up my son, Iskandar Arfan," he said when met here.

He said Iskandar Arfan had been particularly excited about riding in the new vehicle and was having his meal when his in-laws arrived, before his son immediately washed his hands and got into the SUV.

Ahmad Fahim, Ahmad Shafiq and Iskandar Arfan died after the SUV collided with a lorry at about 3.45 pm, a crash that also claimed the lives of Ibrahim's mother-in-law, Nora Mhd Husin, 55, Jamaliah Sannusi, 27, and a six-month-old baby whose identity and gender have yet to be confirmed.

Another family member, a three-year-old girl, sustained serious injuries in the incident. 

Meanwhile, footage from a dashboard camera that has gone viral showed the Proton X50 entering the opposite lane while travelling along a straight stretch of road at the scene before colliding with a lorry carrying a load of soil.

-- BERNAMA