Pillion rider cheats death after coconut falls on head

BALIK PULAU: A pillion rider cheated death when a basketball-sized coconut fell onto her near Jalan Teluk Kumbar here on Sunday (June 26).

The incident is believed to have happened on Sunday morning when the coconut fell on her head as the motorcycle she was on passed through a road heading towards George Town from Teluk Kumbar.

A 28-second video on the incident that has gone viral showed the victim falling from the motorcycle after the coconut fell on her as the motorcycle was moving.

Fortunately, the rider managed to control the motorcycle and stop by the side of the road.

Several passers-by can be seen in the video trying to alert other motorists to slow their vehicles as the rider helped the victim.

Bayan Lepas assemblyman Azrul Mahathir Aziz, in a Facebook post, said he sympathised with the victim, who is known as Puan Anita and lives in Taman Emas, which is in his constituency.

“I rushed to the scene once I received the information and requested the relevant agencies to take immediate action on the matter,” he said.

Azrul said most of the coconut trees along the road belonged to private owners and prior to the incident, trees that were highly at risk of causing a danger to motorists and the public had been cut down.

He said he had contacted the children of the victim, who is still seeking treatment at the Penang Hospital.

“I hope the injury is not that serious,” he said.