Alza driver in UPSI bus crash gives statement to police
IPOH: Police have recorded a statement from the driver of the Perodua Alza involved in the fatal crash with a bus carrying Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students.
State police chief Datuk Noor Hisam Nordin said the statement was taken from the 37-year-old driver yesterday.
"His wife and two children are still in the ward at Baling Hospital, Kedah," he said when contacted today.
The Alza driver, Mohd Lutfi Radzi, sustained minor injuries and was discharged on the day of the collision.
His wife, identified as Nurul Ain Zakaria, 36, and their two children — Nur Aisyah Nafishah, 6, and 3-year-old Muhammad Ahsan Nafis — remain in hospital but are reported to be in stable condition.
When asked if police had recorded statements from any of the surviving students, Noor Hisam said they had not yet done so.
He added that police had also taken a blood sample from the bus driver involved in the accident.
He said tests would be conducted to determine whether the 39-year-old driver was under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident.
"The blood sample was taken yesterday at Gerik Hospital and has been sent to the Chemistry Department in Ipoh for analysis," he said.
When asked how long it would take to obtain the blood test results, he said it was under the jurisdiction of the Chemistry Department and the police could not intervene.
"We take the blood sample to test for drugs... it is not always necessary to take a urine sample," he added.
It was reported yesterday that the bus, which was carrying 42 UPSI students was on its way from Jertih, Terengganu, to the university's main campus when it was involved in a collision with a Perodua Alza along the East-West Highway.
Thirteen students died at the scene of the crash, while two others were pronounced dead at the Gerik Hospital.
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