Three people died and 14 were injured - two critically - when a minibus ran into the back of an overloaded container truck yesterday.
The speed detector inside the 44A minibus, travelling from Tuen Mun to Sheung Shui, was beeping and showing 85km/h - 5km/h above the limit - when it crashed at 5.30am on the Yuen Long Highway, said a police officer involved in the investigation.
Police are also investigating whether the driver fell asleep as there were no skid marks at the scene.
Minibus driver Lai Kwong-man, 51, was killed along with passengers, Suen Sau-wan, 49, and Tung Yiu-man, 53. All the injured - 12 men and two women - were minibus passengers. The truck driver, 54, surnamed Ng, was unhurt.
Two men, aged 27 and 34, were last night in critical condition, and three men and one woman were in serious condition.
Police arrested the truck driver on suspicion of dangerous driving after his truck was found carrying 48 tonnes of plastic goods, 10 tonnes more than the legal limit for the vehicle. He was released on HK$5,000 bail and told to report back on August 11.
The accident comes days after a Legislative Council meeting in which lawmaker Wong Kwok-hing - who uses the route twice a week - raised concerns about speeding minibuses, and demanded that the Transport Department and police take action.