S'porean, 62, injured after tour bus overturns on M'sia expressway, passenger alleges driver dozed off

A tour bus travelling from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, overturned along an expressway after its driver reportedly fell asleep behind the wheel.

The incident occurred at about 4am on the early morning of Aug. 26 at the 177.6-kilometre mark of the North-South Expressway, according to Malaysian media outlet The Star.

The bus was carrying 12 people at the time.

Three passengers were reportedly injured, including the 59-year-old Malaysian tour guide, a 62-year-old Singaporean and a 42-year-old British national.

Malaysian police said they received a report about the accident at about 5am.

According to them, the bus driver had attempted to avoid a lorry that had slowed down, causing it to veer off to the side of the road and overturn.

Driver allegedly fell asleep at the wheel

A passenger, surnamed Lin, told Lianhe Zaobao that the accident was allegedly caused by the driver falling asleep behind the wheel.

The man, who was travelling on the overnight bus for business, said that the accident site was only about 50 metres away from stone pillars and a fence along the roadside, which would have been disastrous if hit.

He said that two elderly people were seriously injured, with one bleeding from the head and another unable to move, seemingly due to a fracture.

However, the ambulance took more than an hour to arrive, he alleged.

Passengers were also said to be left stranded by the roadside for two more hours while another bus was deployed to the site.

According to Lin, he tried to inform the tour company that he had sprained his lower back and needed to see a doctor, but was not contacted by any staff member.