Hong Kong bus driver killed in late-night collision with broken-down delivery van
- The 962B Citybus slammed into the van’s open rear door just before midnight on Sunday as it headed towards Causeway Bay, according to police
- None of the 10 passengers were reported hurt, but the 63-year-old driver suffered fatal head injuries
Hong Kong police are investigating a fatal crash that killed a 63-year-old bus driver in Tsing Yi just before midnight on Sunday.
The 962B Citybus heading from Tuen Mun to Causeway Bay collided with a broken-down delivery van on the slip road of Tuen Mun Road near Ting Kau Bridge.
The 10 bus passengers were unharmed, but the driver reportedly suffered a serious head injury when the bus slammed into the van’s open back door.
The bus driver, surnamed Chu, who suffered serious head injuries, was rushed to Yan Chai Hospital, and declared dead at 12.50am on Monday. Police are appealing for witnesses of the collision to come forward.
After the accident, the Transport Department closed the slip road leading from the Kowloon-bound side of Tuen Mun Road to Ting Kau Bridge, but had reopened it by Monday morning. The crossing connects Tsing Yi and Tuen Mun.
Expressing sadness at the death, Citybus said it would work with police on the investigation.
“Mr Chu was a valued and popular member of our team and we offer our deepest condolences to his extended family and are providing support to them along with any affected colleagues who worked with him every day,” the bus company said in a statement.
In the first seven months of this year, 50 people died and 1,068 suffered serious injuries in 1,068 road accidents across the city. In the whole of last year, 97 people lost their lives in 96 fatal traffic accidents.
In March 2019, two people died and 16 were injured when a Citybus double-decker slammed into a stationary truck on West Kowloon Highway in Yau Ma Tei.
The truck had broken down and was stranded in the middle lane for about 45 minutes, before the Admiralty-bound bus rammed into the truck’s tailboard, which was in a lowered position.
