Lorry driver killed after signboard falls on his vehicle

A lorry driver died in a freak accident yesterday after a signboard fell on his vehicle at the Persiaran Paya Terubong 2, near George Town, Penang.

S Kumaravelan, 48, had crashed into the pillar supporting the road sign. The road sign collapsed as a result of the accident, leading to his death. 

A rescue team was sent right away from the Paya Terubong Fire and Rescue Station to the area after the Penang Fire and Rescue Department got an emergency call at 3:20 pm, according to operations officer Khairul Anuar Abd Rahim.

“Upon arrival, firefighters saw that the road sign had collapsed onto the lorry and the impact had pinned the driver inside the vehicle. Firefighters used rescue tools to extricate the driver from the wreckage as he was pinned to his seat by the fallen signboard.

“The driver was extricated at 3.46pm and a medical team at the scene pronounced him dead,” he told Bernama.

Khairul said the body of the driver was later handed to the police who sent it to the Penang Hospital for a post-mortem.