Bus driver arrested after crash that killed 6 in family in central Vietnam
May 2, 2015 by thanhniennews
A car was severely damaged after a collision with a bus in the central city of Da Nang on April 29. Six people were killed and another seriously injured. Photo: Nguyen Tu
Police in the central city of Da Nang have arrested a bus driver who fled after crashing into a sedan, killing six people in a family early this week.
Le Nhat Phuong, 43, was found exceeding the speed limit when the collision happened on Wednesday, Khuat Viet Hung, chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee, said in a report to Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Phuong was driving the sleeper bus at 85 kilometers per hour on Nam Hai Van Bypass, where the speed limit is 50 kilometers per hour, according to the report.
The incident took place at an intersection between the bypass and a newly-opened road leading to the popular tourist site Ba Na Hills.
The crash sent the four-seater Camry away for over 120 meters, and instantly killed its driver, 28-year-old Nguyen Chi Hoang Anh, along with his two-year-old son, his 50-year-old mother, and his 60-year-old father-in-law.
Anh’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law succumbed to injuries at a local hospital later.
His wife Nguyen Thi Huong Mai, 27 and pregnant, is currently in a coma with a brain injury and a broken thigh.
The family was on their way back from a trip to Ba Na Hills when they were hit by the bus.
All of 30 passengers on Phuong’s bus, which was heading south to Ho Chi Minh City from Quang Tri Province, escaped the collision unscathed.
According to Hung, Phuc has ordered authorities in HCMC to suspend the transport company that owns the bus for up to three months for an investigation.
The deputy prime minister also criticized Da Nang’s authorities for failing to establish appropriate road safety features at the intersection.
Traffic lights did not work and there were no rumble strips to warn drivers.
Hung said right after the crash, the safety features have been installed.
