A man was burnt to death inside a BMW when it burst into flames at a Sprint Highway toll booth in Damansara here.

Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Zani Che Din said that according to an employee at the toll plaza, the man stopped his car at the Touch ’n Go lane at about 4am yesterday.

The driver, who was believed to be drunk, got out of the car and made his way to the front passenger seat before falling sleep with the engine running.

“The toll booth employee tried to wake the man up but the car was locked and the windows were closed,” ACP Mohd Zani said.

About an hour later, the car engine caught fire and the flames spread quickly, burning the man to death.

ACP Mohd Zani said the victims’ remains were sent to the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) for a post-mortem.

At UMMC, several people believed to be family members and friends of the victim declined to speak to the media.

ACP Mohd Zani said firemen managed to bring the fire under control at about 5.30am.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Depart­ment assistant operations director Mohd Sani Harul said two toll booths were also damaged in the fire.

The department was alerted to the incident at about 5.20am, he added.

Meanwhile, BMW Group Malaysia has offered its expertise and assistance to the authorities over the incident.

In a statement, its managing director and chief executive officer Han Sang Yun described the incident as sad and unfortunate.

“We at BMW Group Malaysia learnt this morning of an incident where a previous generation BMW vehicle caught fire at the toll plaza of the Sprint Expressway, which resulted in a fatality.

“This is a very unfortunate incident and we are really saddened by what has happened. We sympathise with the victim and the family members affected by the incident.

“We understand that at the moment, the cause of the fire has not been ascertained and we at BMW Group Malaysia are open to offering our expertise, cooperation and assistance to the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department as well as the related authorities to investigate the incident thoroughly,” Han said.

Source:
courtesy of THE STAR

by Jastin Ahmad Tarmizi

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