Coach driver in Hong Kong crash that claimed five lives had been suspended for accident earlier this year
- Fok Chi-sum’s vehicle hit a truck in February, with 15 passengers injured
- He was taken off duty for several weeks to receive training
Hong Kong is facing tough questions about overworked bus drivers again after a coach ferrying workers to the airport ploughed into the back of a stationary taxi on a highway on Friday, leaving five people dead and 32 injured.
Police suspect the 62-year-old driver was exhausted during a long shift, while his employer said he had resumed work following a suspension over another accident he was involved in earlier this year.
It was the city’s second such road accident in 2018, following a bus crash in Tai Po in February that claimed 19 lives. Working hours for franchised bus drivers had to be reviewed after the crash.
The coach with Fok Chi-sum behind the wheel was travelling along the Cheung Tsing Highway in Tsing Yi when it ran into disaster just before 5am. It was carrying 36 employees from five companies providing services at Hong Kong International Airport, including 20 from the Cathay Pacific Group.
Coach driver in crash that killed five had been working 12-hour shifts
Superintendent Michael Yip Siu-ming of the New Territories South traffic police said surveillance camera footage showed the coach slamming into the taxi 40 seconds after the cab broke down, and pulled over to the left side with its hazard lights on.
