The driver of a double-decker express bus was killed and three passengers seriously injured when it collided with a stationary lorry at a road-shoulder just after the Ipoh Selatan toll plaze early today.

The bus which was ferrying 35 passengers was heading to Kuala Lumpur from Butterworth when the crash occurred about 4.30am, at Km285 of the North-South Expressway.

Simpang Pulai Fire and Rescue Department chief, Rozmi Che Hamat, said initial investigations revealed the bus rammed the rear of the lorry which had earlier broken down.

He said the body of the bus driver was sent to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh.

The injured were warded at the hospital, he added.

Meanwhile, in Nilai, a Nigerian woman was killed after the Perodua Myvi car she was in with her sister was involved in an accident at Km269 of the North-South Expressway (southbound) this afternoon.

In the 3.15pm incident, the 23-year-old victim, identified as Odongo Regina Ndamai, died at the scene due to serious injuries.

Nilai Fire and Rescue Department operations chief Bahrin Ayub Ghazali said initial investigations revealed that the incident occurred when the car, driven by the victim's elder sister, Regina Ignthia Akiyi, 28, encountered a tyre problem.

"The car was (initially) on the middle lane. As it was heading towards the emergency lane, the car was rammed from behind by a Proton Exora driven by a men," he said when contacted by Bernama today.

Bahrin said due to the impact, the Proton Exora car burst into flames but passersby managed to rescue the driver.

"It took us five minutes to put out the fire," he said, adding that both the drivers suffered injuries and were sent to the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital in Seremban for treatment.

- Bernama