Two dead, 16 injured after Citybus double-decker crashes into truck in Hong Kong
- Bus driver, 59, dead at scene after being thrown from double-decker
- Truck driver, 54, died after being taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Two people died and 16 were injured when a Citybus double-decker slammed into a stationary truck on Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Highway on Monday.
The truck had broken down and remained in the middle lane for about 45 minutes, before the bus heading for Admiralty rammed into it shortly before 10.30am in Yau Ma Tei.
A police source said investigations showed that it took more than half an hour to find a tow truck company which had a free vehicle. He said the accident happened before assistance arrived.
“The truck driver was trying to get something from his vehicle and put it on the road to alert other road users,” Chief Inspector Wong Sai-kwan of the Kowloon West traffic accident investigation unit said.
The bus driver, So Kwok-wai, 59, was partly thrown through the windscreen and was left hanging out of the vehicle, police said. He was declared dead at the scene.
The truck driver, Liem Tan-hung, 54, was hit by the bus and thrown more than 10 metres. He was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he was later certified dead. His 39-year-old wife was in the truck and among the 16 who suffered minor injuries.
Fifteen bus passengers – 10 women and five men – were taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Kwong Wah Hospital.
The police source said initial investigation showed the CCTV system of the nearby Western Harbour Tunnel did not capture the crash. Tunnel staff did not notice the truck had been stuck in the middle of the highway for about 45 minutes, he said.
The chief inspector said police were looking into various factors such as the bus driver's health and mental state as well as the vehicle’s speed to establish the cause of the crash.
Wong said if commuters found themselves in a similar situation to the truck driver, they should walk to the roadside and seek help rather than putting something on the road or staying on the road, especially a highway.
The police source said: “Up to now, none of the bus passengers has mentioned seeing the driver falling asleep or passing out at the wheel at the time of the incident. We will check the bus’ surveillance camera footage as part of our investigation.”
The Route 967 bus from Tin Shui Wai to Admiralty had been heading towards the tunnel. According to Citybus, it was the driver’s third trip on his morning shift, which began at 7.06am.
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The company said he had taken his regular day off on Wednesday last week and took sick leave on Friday. On Sunday, he worked from 8.49am to 6.35pm.
William Chung Chak-man, head of operations at Citybus, said the driver had suffered from upper respiratory tract infection but resumed duty on Thursday so “he should have recovered”.
Describing his driving record as good, Chung said So had joined the company about 20 years ago and had driven on the 967 route for more than 10 years.
Expressing sadness at the incident, Citybus said it would offer help to the injured and to the family of the deceased.
According to the Fire Services Department, 11 fire engines, 10 ambulances, a mobile casualty treatment centre and an emergency medical assistance motorcycle were sent to the scene.
Chung said the company was testing an advanced driver assistance system which would monitor driving performance and alert a driver if necessary. He said the testing was expected to be completed at the end of April and the results would be submitted to the authorities before installation.
The system was one of the recommendations to enhance safety following the bus crash in February 2018 that was the city’s worst in nearly 15 years, when a KMB double-decker flipped onto its side in Tai Po, killing 19 people and injuring more than 60 others.
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