THE driver of the Toyota Vios involved in an accident that saw an SUV plunge off the Penang Bridge yesterday tested positive for marijuana.

Seberang Perai Tengah District Police chief ACP Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid said a drug test on the 21-year-old hair stylist returned positive.

“Police also sent the man’s blood sample to the Chemistry Department for a complete test to ascertain the content of alcohol or drugs in his blood and the results will be known soon,” he said in George Town today.

Nik Ros Azhan said the man was receiving treatment for his injuries at a private hospital in Bayan Baru.

He said the man was rushed to Seberang Jaya Hospital after the accident and was discharged yesterday evening. However, he passed out at home, prompting his family to send him to the private hospital.

Nik Ros Azhan also said the Toyota Vios driver and the driver of the SUV had known each other since their primary school days.

“Both of them, along with five other (male) friends, had attended a birthday celebration of one of their friends at an entertainment centre in Lebuh Chulia earlier, and all of them left the centre at 2.30am.

“The five friends live on the island, while the Toyota Vios driver lives in Butterworth,” he said.

He said police were also investigating an allegation that the two drivers had been racing.

The SUV, which was heading to Perai, plunged into the sea after being hit by the Toyota Vios at Km4 of the Penang Bridge at 2.54am yesterday. 

Efforts are under way to find the SUV and the driver, identified as 20-year-old student Moey Yun Peng. – Bernama, January 21, 2019.