A motorcyclist and his two passengers were killed on the spot in the early hours of Wednesday after being hit by a speeding car on National Road 6 in the capital’s Chroy Changvar district.

Municipal traffic police chief Sem Kunthea declined to provide details on Wednesday, saying only that the men were factory workers.

“They succumbed to their injuries even before we could send them to hospital. Only one of them was wearing a helmet,” he said.

A traffic police officer who asked not to be named said the “drunk” driver was detained for questioning and would be sent to court on Thursday.

Fresh News reported that the men were riding a motorbike on National Road 6 at around 2am on Wednesday when a speeding Toyota pick-up truck driving in the same the direction hit them from behind, sending them flying around 100m.

The unidentified driver tried to flee the scene but was arrested after traffic police officers and local residents gave chase.

A National Police report said there were 10 traffic accidents throughout the country on Wednesday alone, killing at least six people and injuring 17, including five women.

At least 66 people have been killed and 279 injured in 146 road accidents nationwide so far this month, the report said, citing speeding as the main cause.

Over the same period last month, 54 people were killed and 359 injured.

In the third quarter of this year, National Police statistics showed that road traffic deaths had increased by more than a hundred on the same period last year, with injuries also up as the number of accidents rose by almost 250.