Six killed in traffic accident in Prey Veng. Supplied
Six family members were killed in a traffic accident on National Road 1 in Prey Veng province after a truck, allegedly driving on the wrong side of the road, collided head-on with their car on Monday.
The crash occurred in Chrolong village in Kampong Trabek district’s Prasat commune at around 10.45pm on Monday, said Kampong Trabek district traffic police chief Khut Saray, who inspected the scene of the incident on Tuesday.
Saray named the victims as Pen Sao Sometthea, 28, a policeman in Kampong Trabek district’s Thkov commune, who was driving the car; his wife Lay Srey Nich, 24; his 18-month-old-old son; his father-in-law Khim Kea, 50; his mother-in-law Mok Sopheap, 49; and his brother-in-law Sak Vannei, 28.
Saray said the family was driving a Toyota Highlander west to east from Prasat commune’s Chambak village when they were hit by a Hyundai truck travelling in the opposite direction.
The truck had Royal Cambodian Armed Forces number plates but the driver has not yet been identified. The truck steered into the wrong lane and smashed into the Highlander, he said, causing it to fly off the road and killing everyone on board. The truck driver escaped unharmed, Saray said.
“The on-site inspection showed that the truck caused the accident because its tyre marks could be seen passing into a different lane, forcing the Highlander off the road,” he said.
Saray said the bodies had been handed over to relatives to conduct funeral ceremonies.
The two vehicles were towed away and are being stored at Kampong Trabek police station, he said, adding that police will send the case to court for legal proceedings.
Prey Veng provincial police chief Sreng Chea told The Post on Tuesday that police had inspected the scene on the night of the accident. He said police were searching for the driver and owner of the truck to bring them to justice.
He said that as of 11.30am on Tuesday, the police investigation had ascertained that the truck owner lives in Svay Rieng province, but the driver has not yet been ascertained.
“We are currently searching for the truck driver who caused the accident so that he can be punished in according the law."
“The truck’s owner must pay compensation to the victims’ families because the truck owner rented the truck to transport soil to sell,” Chea said.
