Hong Kong police investigate passenger complaint about speeding in tram accident
Source says passenger reported tram was swinging from side to side before toppling over
Police are investigating possible speeding as the cause of Thursday night’s rare tram accident after one of the passengers on board told them that it was swinging from side to side before it tumbled over, according to a source.
Experts and tram drivers said that the experience of the 23-year-old driver, who was arrested yesterday, could also have been a factor when the tram crashed onto its side in Central, injuring 14 people.
The driver, who joined operator Hong Kong Tramways last January, was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm and later released on bail, pending an investigation. He must report back to police next month.
Firemen and police were called to the scene shortly after midnight on Thursday after the tram No 123, bound for Shek Tong Tsui, derailed and flipped onto its left side on Des Voeux Road Central, near Bank Street, outside the HSBC headquarters. It took an S-shaped bend immediately before it crashed.
A police source said a passenger had complained that the tram was going too fast for most of the journey and swinging from side to side before it crashed. This was one of the factors that led to the driver’s arrest.
The source said a speed recorder installed on board the tram was being examined by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, and would be passed on to police next.
Mechanical engineer and veteran traffic accident investigator Lo Kok-keung said it was common for trams to derail but in his decades-long career, he had never heard of a tram toppling over in Hong Kong.