Four killed in family holiday tragedy

[Agnes Josephine]

HIGHWAY CRASH: MIRACLE BABY IS SOLE SURVIVOR
Four killed in family holiday tragedy

MPV swerved off Malaysian expressway, slammed into two trees in morning crash

By Teh Joo Lin & Melissa Sim





SOLE SURVIVOR: A Tangkak hospital staff member feeding baby Jolene, who was given milk every two hours there. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM
View more photos

WHAT started out as a holiday for the Bong family ended in a terrible tragedy, wiping out four members in a horrific crash.

The Bongs had been on their way to Kuala Lumpur for a break when their seven-seater Mitsubishi Grandis swerved off the North-South Expressway and hit two trees.

The impact of the crash was so great that three people in it were flung a great distance: Madam Kor Yee Lin, 36, was found 36m from the wreckage; her mother Madam Pang Chee Seng, 69, landed in a drain 20m away.

The family's two-month-old baby, Jolene - who somehow survived with nary a scratch - was found in a clearing 10m from the car.

The driver, Madam Kor's husband Mr Bong Kwang Hong, 37, and their son, Justin, two, were trapped in the wreck.

A semi-conscious Mr Bong was taken in an ambulance to the hospital with the baby, but he died there from his injuries.

The other three died on the spot.

Muar Traffic Police investigator Kamilah Mohd Nasir said Mr Bong appeared to have lost control of his multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) at about 7.30am.

The car mowed down a tree before coming to a jarring stop at a second one.

The crash left the Mitsubishi a mangled wreck, with part of its roof ripped off.

Jolene was taken to a hospital in the town of Tangkak, where nurses dubbed her a miracle baby.

The little girl, who suffered only a few bruises on her forehead, had been crying when she first arrived, but was 'all smiles' and angelic after a while, said the nurses.

She was described as having rosy cheeks and a full head of hair, and was fed milk from a bottle every two hours.

Now an orphan, she was in the care of strangers until three of her uncles and her paternal grandmother arrived at the hospital from Singapore at around 9.30 last night.

But the family, including two of her uncles, Mr Bong Kwang Hwa and Mr Bong Kwang Sheng - her father's younger brothers - had to tend first to the grim task of identifying the four bodies at the mortuary.

When the bodies were presented for identification, Jolene's paternal grandmother crumpled to the floor in a heap, wailing.

The family members spent the night at a hotel in Muar and are expected to claim the bodies this morning.

Mr Bong was the director of adventure tour agency Explore! Worldwide, which specialises in adventure activities, sports and corporate leadership training.

He enjoyed sports and had taken part in the New Balance Corporate Triathlon at East Coast Park in 2005.

The family lived in Simei Green condominium, and Madam Kor had been on maternity leave since Jolene's birth.

Neighbours said the couple had been living there since the condo was built in 1999.


* News extracted from the Straits Times

[adoncia]

this news brought tears to my eyes. the girl is so lucky to escape death. but, she lost her family.

[shopaholic]

This is just so sad.

[~mysterious-m~]

Tragic..

I pity the poor baby...