Woman sacrifices life to save grandchild in motorcycle accident

KOTA KINABALU: A 56-year-old woman pedestrian sacrificed her life to save her nine-year-old grandchild by pushing the child before she was hit by a motorcycle in an incident here at 8.45 am today.

Kota Kinabalu District Police Chief ACP Mohd Zaidi Abdullah said the incident on Jalan Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) near Kampung Rampayan here also claimed the life of the motorcyclist, a 46-year-old man.

He said in the incident the woman's grandchild and a 47-year-old female motorcycle pillion rider escaped with minor injuries.

"Initial investigations of the incident revealed that the motorcyclist was traveling from the direction of Indah Permai towards 1Borneo to send the pillion rider to work. When he arrived at the scene, the woman and her grandchild suddenly crossed the road, causing the motorcyclist to loose control and hit the woman.

"However, the woman managed to push her grandchild from being hit. The impact of the collision caused the motorcycle to fall onto the shoulder of the road. The woman and the rider suffered severe head injuries and died at the scene," he said when contacted by reporters today.

He said the case was being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.

In SANDAKAN, a man died when the Perodua Viva he was driving skidded and landed in a sewage hole filled with water, estimated to be 1.5m deep, which was being constructed by the Public Works Department (JKR) at Jalan Lintas Utara, Batu 3 at 7.30 am today.

Sandakan District Police Chief ACP Abdul Fuad Abdul Malek said preliminary police investigations found that the 52-year-old victim, who was driving from Batu 4 towards the city centre, lost control of the vehicle and crashed into several plastic and concrete barriers placed by the contractor carrying out work at the site.

"The vehicle plunged into a sewage hole that was under construction on the shoulder of the road. As a result of this accident, the driver died at the scene," he said adding that the case was being investigated under Section 41 (1)/85 of the Road Transport Act 1987.

According to a statement from the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (Sabah), the team from the Sandakan Fire and Rescue Station together with JKR pumped out water to facilitate the rescue operation and found a male victim inside the vehicle.

"The victim was confirmed dead by a medical officer at the scene of the incident and the body was handed over to the police for further action," the statement read.

-- BERNAMA