Earlier this morning, a man was burnt to death when his BMW 6 Series caught fire as he was sleeping inside the car, the New Straits Times reports. The 4 am episode took place at the Plaza Toll B on the Sprint expressway.
According to a toll booth worker who witnessed the incident, the man – who was believed to be intoxicated – was said to have stopped the car at the toll booth, left the driver’s seat and went to sleep in the passenger seat, leaving the engine running.
The worker tried to wake the man up by tapping on his window, but failed to stir the driver, who had locked the doors. An hour later, the car caught fire and the man, whose identity is still unknown, burned to death. Two toll booths were also completely burned down in the blaze, the report adds. Authorities are still investigating the identity of the driver.
Meanwhile, BMW Malaysia has issued a short statement on the matter. The statement, made by MD and CEO Han Sang Yun, is as follows:
“We at BMW Group Malaysia learnt this morning of an incident where a previous generation BMW vehicle caught on fire at the Toll Gates of the Sprint Expressway which resulted in a fatality.
This is a very unfortunate incident and we are really saddened with 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.”
UPDATE: Sprint has also issued a statement on the matter, as follows:
“Subsequent to the above incident on March 29th, 2016, Sprint wishes to inform that thorough investigations are being conducted by the authorities. Sprint is committed towards providing its full cooperation to the authorities in order to assist in their investigations.
Sprint would like to reiterate, it had acted responsively to the incident within its scope of authority limits in respect of the prevention and rescue measures that were taken. This include immediate action taken but the ground staffs on duty an alerting the relevant authorities.
Simultaneously, repair works of the damaged toll booths caused by the incident haven been initiated to ensure full restoration of the facilities and smooth traffic flow.
The safety of users using Sprint is paramount. We deeply symphathise with the victim and families affected by the incident.”
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They could have smashed the window and pulled the man out couldn’t they? Aren’t there any fire extinguishers around? Were the workers too busy staring and commenting?
This toll is now a cashless toll with the only booth open being the reload lane.
Plus with this happening at 4am, I’m guessing its just a low-level employee manning the reload booth with no authority or idea on what to do next (though he/she could have called the operations centre which is just opposite this booth)
This event also highlights that our toll operators have absolutely no clear instructions or guidance on what to do in the event of emergencies.
There is no waiting lane at the Sprint toll. Why no one bother to check and rush the man away for safety?
This is qute professional of BMW. Not like about to be bankrupt Proton.
Exora car terbakar on the way to Genting, owner complain to Proton, Proton say it is owner’s fault that Exora terbakar.
Proton blame the way the owner drive. Even Proton MD and CEO say Exora owner is at fault.
This is Proton for you. Compare this to BMW. You can see the difference in service.
If I was Proton, I will replace the Exora with a brand new car. After all, the raw cost of a Proton is only like few thousand ringgit. Better to have goodwill then accuse the Exora owner of driving the car harshly
Are you for real? It’s a standard answer…. BMW basically saying they don’t know what happened and the Fire & Rescue Dept has not yet identified the cause of the fire….
As for the Exora, the Fire & Rescue Dept already concluded their investigation (with assistance from PROTON Safety Engineers) and determined the cause of the fire. Hence the statement by PROTON…
You think can simply gives statement if the investigation not yet concluded???? That’s just inviting court case…
how dumb are you??
The exora owner ady got payment from insurance co. If bimmer got fired bashers dun persoal pulak. Call it cremation lor
FYI, a lot of BMW terbakar every year… It’s common… Only one time BMW give comment, u want to praise them?… idiot
sy nak tukar exora ni.tgh bawa engine berasap.
Malaysian company where got care about health and safety.
Never bother to send staff to train for these kinda emergencies, wanna save cost.
But if wanna increase toll, no problem, no need to announce, just straight away increase.
The dude probably already died from carbon inhalation…….no way they could have wake him up.
where are the SOP and procedures for such things? Plus needs to explain themselves.
LITRAK only knows collect money and do nothing, its parked for an hour..not operating procedure
“This event also highlights that our toll operators have absolutely no clear instructions or guidance on what to do in the event of emergencies”
Which makes it even more worrying, as toll plazas are high risk areas for accidents…
Ultimately, it was the driver’s fault, but it’s unacceptable that a car with a drunk driver blocking a toll lane was left there for an HOUR w/o police being called.
This event also highlight malaysia people drunk drive lor. Very dangerous for other road user lor
We did not know what is the real situation there. There are maybe an explosion prior to the burning or the fire was to big, and I belief if that the case happens, everybody with the right mind would think twice to came near the burning car. Pls dont make any assumption and blaming other ppl. Let this case be a god lesson to us not to repeat the mistake.
Yup.. without knowing actual events it’s unfair to lynch PLUS or the workers.
I think most people will start running away when they see a car burst into flames. Not many heroes around anymore.
Most msian will just slow down their car and watch, some will take out their iphone or smsg and record it..
Drunks don’t deserve to be saved. Be thankful. This drunk could have killed your family.
First of all, the man was believed to be intoxicated. Not proven yet at this point of time.
Secondly, he did make half a correct move by stopping the vehicle when he’s too drunk to drive (not sure why he stops in the middle of the toll lane though). If he were to continue driving, god knows how many innocent lives may be put on risk.
So please do not judge hastily.
He should have never got behind the wheel in the first place…
We can judge him. The fact he is so INTOXICATED,he SHOULD NEVER drive in the 1st place.
Don’t drink, Drive & Sleep in the car. Get a hotel room
Get a chick with that car and go to a hotel room
How about just don’t drink?
How about you just don’t take kopi money?
How about you just dont gip setarbucks money?
Drunk. Sleeping at the toll booth?
I would love to watch the video of this piece of trash burning while having some popcorn.
One less imbecile in this country.
OMG…RIP for the victim. But the interesting part will be why the car can caught on fire?
wuhoo look who’s talking. I bet if you were there, you just take out your phone and record it for viral video and doing nothing. It’s normal average people wouldn’t dare to come near burn vehicle because risk of explode or get burn injury.
RIP. Never a good idea to idle a car for long.
Still though, the toll booth worker let the car parked, blocking an entire lane, for over an hour, and only tapped the window? That’s just too long, too little action.
the worker did his job by tapping on the window of the BMW but he was not persistent enough and for that a life is lost
A few years ago, a car caught fire a few hundred meters before a petrol station. The driver was hurt and unconscious.
A passerby saw and wanted to help. He tried to get fire extinguisher, but it was locked inside and the petrol station staff refused to lent it to him.
The driver in the end was burnt to death.
Nothing changed now, as the BMW driver died due to our people lack health and safety conscience. Saving cost of H&S course and fire extinguisher is more important than your life, whether you drive Myvi or BMW.
Drunk driver blocking a toll lane and the staff at the toll plaza didn’t call the cops to arrest him?? They’re not very proactive, aren’t they…?
He can switch seats but can’t hold on a bit longer to drive to a safer place to sleep. But then again things could have been worse if he had stopped at a petrol kiosk
Its kinda suicidal case.. its illogical stopped by the toll booth and go to the passenger seat and sleep? just a theory.. mm.. Why cant just pay the toll and go to roadside and sleep..whatever it is… due to the car’s brand image, this story will draw the attention of the public.. Beemer mah… haha
Last year also got a red bmw z4 caught fire in section 7 shah alam. I was there before the bomba came
Buy bmw, you got free cremation
Most probably a recond unit.
Looks like a previous generation 6 series, 630i or 645i.
Yeah, probably recon unit.
Meaning recon cars will burn ? What you both implying and smoking ? Otak udang betul
Nobody said it burnt because its a recon unit.
Correlation is not equal to causation, but i guess my otak udang is too dumb for that.
you should have anticipated the correlation arriving a kilometre away in this context dude
Well. I cant help if someone is that insecure about recon cars and at the same time rude. All I can say is whatever rocks his boat man. He probably owns a recon car or a dealership selling recon cars. ive been around long enough to not get offended in a public forum.
I guess it’s a Japan recon unit by judging the number plate shape at the rear bumper
Or the owner didn’t bother to frequently check his radiator coolant level.
BMWs have radiator cooling issues after a certain age. I speak from experience.
Saddening issue, but why did not the worker take the intoxicated man out of the car immediately?
It’s locked. And when the fire comes, they are terrified.
Before the fire happens, if the car was running, it is a sign a fire is going to happen.The guy can smash the window of the car.
the worker could be a girl… too scare to be aggressive…
So you as a guy would turn into hulk and open the window with bare hands?
How many toll worker can afford the 6series window? No one dare to break it.
After break window, the driver sue the worker for breaking his window. KANTOI for nothing!
Doing gud in MY is inviting trouble to ownself when lawyers r so ‘efficient’
it’s hilarious seeing you guys blame on anything but the driver. what do you expect when a drunk guy driving? An accident will happen one or another…lucky this one he’s the only one died. what if the car burst to flames in a manned toll booth? poor toll girl/guy died for nothing.
The worker didn’t have to drag the man out. He/she should have alerted the plaza management to call the police, as it is (i) a drunk driver, (ii) blocking traffic in a toll lane. Instead, the car & driver was left there for an HOUR…
Now this is what you call a freak accident. At the wrong place, the wrong time and an unfathomable reaction.
please release the video at the toll booth to dispel rumours, many find this unbelievable. stopped before the toll booth and dozed off just like that at passenger seat? RIP
It’s easy to blame the “worker”.
Did you know it will burn?
Why did he sleep at the tool-both this is rare.
Saw the burnt out car this morning. Sad that someone died. No car should burst into flames even if engine overheats. Could be a faulty design somewhere coupled with deteriorated parts over time. Looks like the front is burnt the most and the fire spread to the fuel tank. I hope bmw investigates this properly.
BMW is not safe to drive
BMW = Bakar Manusia W…
What does W stand for?
this case may involve foul play. The car caught fire on its own is already a very rare scenario, let alone an intoxicated person chose to stop a car at toll booth and take a nap.
Why did he stop at a toll booth to take a nap? Simple. Either he didn’t have a TnG card or couldn’t find it in his intoxicated state. So not being able to proceed further he decided to take a nap.
The toll attendant should have called for backup but he did nothing.
Too many cases of workers not trained to act during emergencies; necklace snatching at petrol station the counter staff did not even call the police or raise the alarm, fighting in computer mall the security guards just watched, fire while filling at petrol station the worker poured water instead of using fire extinguisher, etc. Malaysian employers only want to save cost by not training their staff and employing cheap clueless foreign workers. Typically they just don’care about safety of others but their own fat profits.
That’s Malaysian worker mentality for you. Lack of initiative. Always waiting for senior to issue command. Tidak apa.
Doubt a car would catch fire even in an hour.
Might have slipped into P or N and accidentally put his foot on accelerator. Maybe. Sad story.
Aiyoo.. read half way.. he was sitting on the passenger seat leh.. how come his leg ended on the the accelerator pedal???
it was reported he went to passenger side to sleep. unless that car has a pedal on both sides! :D
maybe this is a driving school car, which has a pedal on passenger side, normally for braking purpose. But this 6 series, a driving school car, with a oil pedal on passenger side.
Its proving that conti hv no durability in malaysia weather. One thing also is whatever car made by human hv their own lack or poverty. We usually often to blame down others to showing what power and good we are.
Dey.. this happen at 4am la.. not 4pm
BMW Malaysia need to confirm if it’s an official imported unit by them or one of those Japanese or UK specs recond models.
i just saw a burn w204 c class the side of the highway near sungai besi! looks like leaking fuel line at the engine bay.
errr…the car burned burgered between the booth. pix showed the car after being towed backward. Car maybe using RON100 so fire ignite in a matter of second, maybe even faster than RON97. No body did anything maybe since they can do nothing between the space there.
RIP driver and the BM.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-17514172
Y drink and drive??? My deepest condolences to the victim’s family…
Why doesn’t sprint highway have fire extinguishers on standby? It happened on your highway and thus some sense of responsibility should also be shouldered by sprint for not having the proper applications pertaining to issues as such.
I’m sure they have portable fire extinguisher (pfe) at the tollbooths. The question is, how do u spray into the engine bay/interior, assuming the fire starts from there but the bonnet/doors are locked and the radiating heat makes it difficult for you to go near the car?
Maybe he too drunk to continue and thought stopping at the toll booth is the safest place…some toll operators have very fastrofessional response teams while some basically no services after paying toll ( example Subang toll from nearly 10 lanes became 2-3 lanes and the TnGoSmartcard booths placed dangerrously making motorist taking risk criss crossing many lanes from left to the most right..even when massive jam not a single officer to help direct traffic after the toll its a free for all..and at least BMW acknowledged unlike Prodon
“Believed to be intoxicated” – now they say what also can.. already burnt.
If truly one hour elapsed, it was way too long. The driver could have even suffocated if there was a carbon monoxide leak. Instead the hiway operator ended up with a firebomb and a fatality on their door step.
lets see their cctv to see what exactly happen…
This case could happen with 2 possibilities
1) This car is imported direct from Europe where the engine having temperature differences spec.
2) Pumping over flow petrol that leak to to a uncivilized idiots throwing cigarettes butts causing the fire.
Translation: Our toll booth operator called 999 for help. Response: No-one could be arsed to come out at 4am.
I’m really curious about the use of the words ‘previous generation’. What is he saying? The car was old and a new one won’t catch fire?
BMW yang terbakar also I see some ppl still bash Proton!!!! Aiyoooo. If BMW terbakar just bash BMW lah. What is the relation to Proton pula? Funnylah. But then foreign car is seen superior. No one will bash orang putih’s products eventhought if it is a lime.
A very unfortunate incident however could it be avoided if the toll operator has taken further action? Instead of ignoring him after some attempts to wake him fails. What kind of SOP or P&P does the toll management has for such incident? Someone drove into a paying lane, stop his car, comes out and goes to the passenger seat and falls asleep and all the toll operator did was knock onto his window to wake him. The report said the driver was assumed to be drunk but how or kind of training or qualifications does this toll operator has to be able to distinguish between a drunk and a cardiac arrest victim. Why has no further action been taken since the driver has already committed an offence by driving and stopping in a paying lane. Isn’t it logical that the toll operator should immediately call for assistance such as ambulance, bomba and also the police. Based on newspaper report, the car only caught fire after an hour. A sleeping driver and an unconscious driver may looks the same, so why no emergency action is taken? Does it takes an hour to make decisions?