Truck driver jailed for two years over accident that killed young mother in Hong Kong

A Hong Kong driver was jailed for two years on Thursday after admitting he fell asleep behind the wheel of his trailer truck, causing an accident that killed a young mother and injured four others.

The accident happened at 10.51pm on January 3 last year, when Lai Kin-man, 52, lost control of his vehicle, which then cut across five lanes on Tsing Long Highway, mounted Tai Lam Tunnel Bus Interchange and careered downhill to hit a car travelling along Pat Heung Road.

The District Court heard the last image Lai could remember before closing his eyes – after more than 10 hours on the road – was the highway toll booth.

When he opened his eyes again six seconds later, he found himself trapped inside a toppled vehicle and needed firefighters’ help to get out, since he was injured in the head and spine.

Wang Xiaodan, a 27-year-old mother of a two-year-old boy, who had been waiting for a bus home after working overtime, was certified dead at the scene. Paramedics had found her lying 20 metres down the slope leading to Pat Heung Road.

Three other pedestrians were injured, along with the car’s driver, whose vehicle was completely wrecked.

The collision also knocked down a rest hut for KMB workers, 17 metres of metal fencing and another 8 metres of metal barriers.

Upon arrest, Lai told police that he “might have relaxed” himself and fallen asleep for a short time because he felt tired.

He also explained in subsequent recorded interviews that he started to feel tired about 500 metres from the tunnel entrance but that he could not find a place to park so he had to keep driving.

Security footage showed Lai’s truck, attached to a trailer carrying oxivor, a dangerous chemical, had stopped at the toll booth for at least one minute and 30 seconds before he drove on.

On Thursday, Lai cried as acting senior public prosecutor Ranee Khubchandani recounted the case in court, after he pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving causing death, an offence punishable by 10 years in prison.

Wang’s mother also wailed upon hearing details of her injury and seeing footage of the accident.

The court heard the crash victims had since avoided going to the bus stop, and Wang’s family even applied to the Housing Authority to move from the public housing flat they once shared. The mother is attending monthly psychiatric consultation.

In mitigation, Lai apologised through his counsel and revealed that he had also needed psychiatric help since the accident.

“He regretted it very much,” defence counsel Kelvin Man said.

Lai’s family pleaded for leniency in letters that painted him as a responsible father, a pious son and a hard-working man.

But Deputy District Judge Ho Chun-yiu noted the offence was aggravated by the fact that Lai, being a professional driver for 30 years, had irresponsibly failed to assess whether he was fit enough to drive before setting out his journey.

Lai was jailed for two years, after he was granted a one-third discount for his timely guilty plea.

He was also barred from driving in the next five years and ordered to attend a driving course by the end of his disqualification period.