ALOR STAR: A family of five narrowly avoided tragedy when a 20kg steel object rolled off from a moving truck and struck their car on the North-South Expressway (Plus) near Pendang on Dec 19.
A dashcam video of the incident, which has been circulating online, shows the steel object — believed to be part of an industrial machine — hitting their Perodua Myvi at Km57.7 of the expressway.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
Salmi, a 40-year-old civil servant, said she was travelling with her husband, Shahrul, 55, and their three children to Kuala Lumpur when the incident occurred.
"We were cruising in the left lane around 6.20pm when the object suddenly fell in our path and hit the car. We could not swerve into the right lane as it was too busy, so we had no choice but to hit it.
"We cancelled our plans for a holiday in Kuala Lumpur, but I'm just grateful that no one was hurt."
Salmi added that she had lodged a police report and hoped for a thorough investigation.
"When the car was inspected at the workshop, initial checks showed substantial damage. The estimated repair cost is RM6,000. It (the object) appears to be a 20kg machine component," she said, adding that the truck responsible could not be traced.
Salmi urged the authorities to take action, noting the recent crash in Ayer Keroh which claimed seven lives.
"I heard about the crash a few days ago. I couldn't help but think of how much worse it could have been for us. I'm just grateful we're safe," she said.
The 'New Straits Times' has reached out to Pendang police but has yet to receive further details at the time of writing.
On Tuesday, seven people were killed and 33 others injured in a collision involving a tour bus carrying 27 passengers, a trailer and a car at Km204 of the Plus Expressway near Ayer Keroh.
District police chief Superintendent Ashari Abu Samah said the tour bus collided with a tyre that had detached from a trailer and was lying on the road.
The impact caused the bus driver to lose control, sending the vehicle skidding into the opposite lane, where it then collided with a car.