Truck driver arrested for leaving others for dead after accident

Mai Van Khoi, 40, is in custody as police in Chau Thanh District of Tien Giang Province investigate him for “not helping someone in a life-threatening situation” in accordance with the Penal Code.

Khoi told the police that around 8 p.m. on February 1, he was driving the truck from the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long to Ho Chi Minh City as he detected an error that could affect the brake.

He decided to slow down and had the truck move at 35kph.

As he was driving slowly along the HCMC – Trung Luong Expressway, he heard a slam at the back of the truck.

Khoi stopped the truck to check and found that a 16-seat passenger car had plowed into the back of his vehicle.

The collision caused the entire front of the car to be completely damaged and left the driver unconscious.

Khoi also heard people screaming inside the car, but he did not help them or call for help, and drove away.

It was not until after 1 a.m. the next day that local people found the damaged car on the highway and reported it to local police. By that time, the driver had already died.

The five passengers in the vehicle were taken to a hospital but two of them died later and the other three were severely injured.

Police extracted security camera footage and identified the trailer tractor driven by Khoi.

Running 62 kilometers long, the HCMC – Trung Luong Expressway is the only expressway linking the city with the Mekong Delta. It has four lanes for vehicles to move at a maximum speed of 100kph.