Driver given 3 1/2 years' jail after fatal crash
The driver of a light truck was jailed for 3 1/2 years yesterday for dangerous driving causing death after he killed a pedestrian and injured three others when his vehicle ran into a pedestrian zone.
Lei Tin-seng, 50, had pleaded not guilty in the District Court to the charge, which arose from the fatal accident on August 1 last year, when he drove too quickly as he turned from San Fung Avenue into Tsun Fu Street, Sheung Shui.
Judge Mary Yuen Lai-wah found him guilty on July 30. Lei was also disqualified from driving for three years.
Judge Yuen said Lei's driving was reckless since he was going too fast when he made the turn. She reduced his sentence by six months to take account of his clean record and hard work, she said. In 18 mitigation letters, Lei was described as a hard-working, responsible man.
Lei was found to have been travelling at up to 50km/h when he turned into Tsun Fu Street. He ran into metal railings in the pedestrian zone, where six pedestrians were waiting to cross the road. Three people were injured, and 80-year-old Yeung Yu-kong was killed.
Judge Yuen rejected Lei's claim that he made the turn at 10km/h, and she did not believe his claim that he tried to slow down while turning.
In his testimony, Lei said he accidentally stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake while turning, but the judge rejected that account.
She reasoned that there would be no reason for him to slow down if he were making the turn at the speed he claimed.
She accepted the testimony of expert witnesses that Lei had been driving at between 30km/h and 50km/h at the time.
Lei was sentenced under the new system, in terms of which the maximum penalty is 10 years' imprisonment, instead of the previous five.
