KOTA KINABALU: A 21-year-old former Sabah’s Under 19 football player died in a road accident that also involved Sabah’s national football player, Rozaimi Abdul Rahman, who sustained serious injuries here, yesterday.

In the accident at Kilometre 3.5 Jalan Tuaran, Rozaimi was a passenger in the Honda Civic car driven by his nephew, Ak Mohd Farris Mahamud, travelling from Inanam to Kota Kinabalu via Jalan Tuaran, when the latter was said to have lost control of the vehicle, in the 1pm incident.

“The vehicle then skidded and crashed on to a tree and a pole, before ramming the wall of a nearby house,” said Kota Kinabalu police chief ACP M Chandra, when confirming the incident yesterday.

He added that investigation showed that the driver had been driving too fast, causing the driver to not be able to control the vehicle well and lost control of the vehicle.

Chandra said Rozaimi and Farris, sustained injuries to the head and legs.

Meanwhile, Rozaimi’s wife, Nurul Adila Junaidi, 19, was informed of the incident through a friend who told her about an accident involving her husband.

“I was on my way home from class when I received the news. Before that, he (Rozaimi) did send me a Whatsapp text message at about 1pm,” said Nurul, who is a first-year mechanical engineering student at Polytechnic Kota Kinabalu.

Nurul, who had just given birth to their child early last June said she was shocked to have received such news and she immediately rushed to the hospital.

Rozaimi’s father, Abdul Rahman Latip, 54, disclosed that his son had been transferred to KPJ Hospital. According to him, a doctor had informed that Rozaimi was now in stable condition with no serious or internal injuries.

He added that Rozaimi only received stitches to his head and dislocated his shoulder.

“When I went in to see him he was already conscious,” he said.

Rumours of the victim’s death were quickly spread on social networks after the 1pm incident. Farris died at 8.37pm yesterday.

The case, which was initially investigated under Section 43 (1) of the Road Transportation Act 1987 is now changed to Section 41 (1) of the same Act.