Source:
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3203507/hong-kong-delivery-van-driver-dies-tung-chung-pile-bus-and-truck-12-others-injured
Hong Kong/ Law and Crime

2 dead, 10 injured in Hong Kong as double-decker bus rams stationary truck and delivery van

  • Drivers of truck and van who had left vehicles to carry out cleaning work killed in crash
  • Tung Chung Eastern Interchange, the main entry point to Tung Chung New Town, earlier partially shut; lanes reopened by 2.18pm
The three-vehicle crash shut down lanes leading into Tung Chung New Town. Photo: Dickson Lee

Two men died and 10 other people were injured after a double-decker bus rammed into a stationary truck and delivery van in Hong Kong on Friday.

Police arrested the 28-year-old bus driver on suspicion of dangerous driving causing death. As of Friday afternoon, he was still being held for questioning.

The pile-up occurred on Yu Tung Road in Tung Chung at 9.19am, according to police.

At the time of the crash, the truck and the delivery van were stopped on the road and four people, including the two drivers, were outside the vehicles while another two workers were resting inside the truck, said Chief Inspector Lau Kam-pun of the New Territories South traffic unit. The six were carrying out cleaning work in the area, he added.

Lau added that a preliminary investigation suggested the Long Win Bus Company bus carrying more than 20 passengers failed to stop in time and slammed into the back of the truck, which moved forward and hit the delivery van.

“Three people were trapped under the truck and freed by emergency personnel,” a police spokesman said.

The truck driver, 64, who was among those trapped under the vehicle, was certified dead at the scene. A woman trapped under the vehicle was found unconscious and sent to North Lantau Hospital for treatment.

Police said the four others stopped on the road and six bus passengers were injured and sent to North Lantau Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital.

The driver of the delivery van – a 52-year-old man – died in hospital at about 1.30pm.

The Fire Services Department dispatched eight fire engines and 12 ambulances to the scene, with 69 firefighters and paramedics deployed.

Lau said police were still investigating if any signs to warn vehicles about the work had been placed in the area, and if the workers had finished their cleaning task at the time of the incident.

The chief inspector said no brake marks from the bus were found at the scene.

He added that police were looking into various factors such as the bus driver’s health and mental state, as well as the vehicle’s mechanics and speed to establish the cause of the crash.

According to the force, the driver had been working for Long Win Bus for 2½ years and was assigned the E36A route between Yuen Long and Tung Chung in the past two months. His last day off was on Tuesday.

“At the time of the incident, it was the driver’s second trip on his morning shift, which began at 8am,” Lau said.

Police are appealing to witnesses and anyone with information to contact officers on 3661 1344.

The Transport Department said all lanes of Yu Tung Road near the accident were closed, with parts of the Tung Chung Eastern Interchange also shut down. The interchange is the main entry point to Tung Chung New Town.

The department announced at 2.18pm that all affected lanes had reopened to traffic.