Bus driver sentenced to prison for 5-body wreck

The Dong Nai Provincial People’s Court announced Monday that Hoang Van Tinh, 38, had violating road traffic regulations by using a fake license to drive the sleeper bus last September. They also said he failed to maintain a safe distance from other vehicles while driving, which caused an accident that resulted in the deaths of five people.

Le Duong, 33, deputy director of Thanh Buoi Co. Ltd., was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for deploying an unqualified driver.

At 2:25 a.m., while on National Highway 20 through Dong Nai’s Dinh Quan District, Tinh failed to maintain a safe distance between vehicles and crashed into the rear of a truck ahead.

Tinh’s vehicle swerved left, causing the bus to veer into the opposite lane and collide with a 16-seat passenger van coming from the opposite direction.

Driver Nguyen Van Canh was driving the van that carried 8 people.

The impact killed five people in the van, including the driver Canh, who was then 33, IT injured four others, and caused property damages exceeding VND660 million (US$26,000).

The case was initially brought to trial on May 20, but the court adjourned the hearing for further investigations “due to signs of crime being overlooked.”

According to the court, important details had been left unclear, especially the roles played by Thanh Buoi administrators, managers and other employees who are tasked with checking IDs at departure points.

The details of the license that Tinh showed at departure points in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat has been thrown into question.

The legality of the state seal Duong had posted at his business, as well as Duong’s signature on administrative documents and transport business activities records, are all being investigated. As well as the legality of delegating the seal and signature to the HR department, which is what Duong did.

The court has ordered prosecution look into alleged criminal behavior by the Thanh Buoi employees involved in checking Tinh’s driver’s license on Sept. 30, 2023.

Regarding civil liability, after the accident, Thanh Buoi Company has compensated the victims’ families with nearly VND2.7 billion in total. They also gave VND800 million to the owners of the passenger bus (which it rented) and the van.

The victim families have filed petitions asking leniency for the defendants and they have said that they are not taking the compensation money.