The Run Out Pahang Marathon 2018 was held on 11 March 2018 at Kuantan, Pahang. The accident happened at around 8:25 a.m., about 200 metres from the finish line.
According to The Star, Kuantan police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Noor Yusof Ali said that the 28-year-old female driver had been monitoring the runners heading from Bukit Istana to Kota SAS. When she reached near Masjid Al-Imam Ash-Shafie Kota SAS, she saw several participants running outside the designated lane. She tried to brake her car so she could give directions to the runners. However, she was believed to have lost control of the vehicle, and it veered into the left lane before hitting the runners.
Four Injured Runners
Three victims were sent to the International Islamic University Hospital while another was taken to Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan for treatment. The injured runners are identified as follow.
- Ahmad Fakhri Sulaiman, 31, suffered injuries to his head and left leg.
- Chua Yennie, 21, was hurt on her face and head.
- Nurul Huda Ahmad Razali, 33, a lecturer at Universiti Tenaga Nasional campus in Muadzam Shah, was reported to have broken her right leg.
- Haslinda Othman, 41, who works in a bank in Rawang, suffered injuries to her head, legs, and left arm.
Nurul said,
I was just running and then I heard a loud noise from behind. Everything happened so fast, like the blink of an eye, and I was just shocked. Before I knew it, I was thrown to the ground in pain. Things were a bit blurry, but the ambulance came quickly and took me to HTAA (Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan).
Haslinda said,
At that time, I thought two participants have died as they were sprawled motionless in the middle of the road, while a woman participant sat by the roadside with her head covered in blood after she was hit by the secretariat’s car. The incident took place only 200 metres from the finishing line. Suddenly, I felt something hit me hard and I was flung to the middle of the road. I did not know what was happening at that time. It was when I got up and looked back that I saw three other participants had also been hit including two who were sprawled on the road.
About Run Out Pahang Marathon 2018
The event is held in collaboration with the Pahang Athletics Association and Pahang Tourism Office. It had received approval from the Malaysian Sports Commissioner’s Office and Kuantan Municipal Council.
The race organiser, Dusty Monkeys, posted on their Facebook page that none of the cases is fatal and they are monitoring closely on the recovery of the runners.
Although the race routes were highly ensured and doubled on traffic and safety patrols as compared to previous years, there seem to be false rumours that the accident has happened due to the carelessness of an internal party.
The organisers’ internal team operated merely in the carnival area and by the race routes’ water stations and maintained professionalism and dedication at all times of this event.
For this reason, we would like the public to know that the safety of our runners has always been our top priority and we will constantly work harder every year to enhance it.The Run Out Pahang Marathon team promises to keep our runners safety as our top priority as this case is currently under investigation by the local authorities and would like the runners to know that we are equally concerned and as a team, we are taking this matter very seriously.
Other accidents in Malaysia
In December 2017, Evelyn Ang, a 44-year-old pacer in Klang City International Marathon was hit by a car driven by 27-year-old Teoh Thiam Lim. After being in a coma for two months since the accident, Evelyn passed away on 1 March 2018.
Featured Image Credit: Malay Mail Online.
