Warning about the practice of causing accidents and then abandoning the victims.

When human lives are disregarded

Recently, at approximately 10:55 PM on May 21, 2024, a traffic accident occurred on Thang Long Street (Vinh City). At the scene, two young men and their motorbike were found lying in the middle of the road, and a car license plate was also found scattered on the road.

Mr. Vo Duc Duan (living opposite house number 143 Thang Long Street, Nghi Lien Commune, Vinh City) recounted: "Around that time, I was inside my house when I heard a loud noise. I ran out to Thang Long Street and saw two young men seriously injured lying on the western edge of the road. About 20 meters to the north, there was a motorbike with license plate 37H1-274.56 that was severely damaged."

In addition, there was a car license plate with the number 37D-024.17 lying in the middle of the road. According to Mr. Duan, earlier, some people who came to the scene saw a Kia Morning car, but it sped away.

As a result of the aforementioned accident, one victim, Toản (born in 2004), residing in Châu Thái commune, Quỳ Hợp district, died, while the other sustained serious injuries.

Shortly afterward, authorities located the vehicle involved in the accident. According to vehicle registration information, the vehicle with license plate 37D-024.17 is a van, registered on December 28, 2017, and owned by NTHN (born in 1994). The inspection was due on July 19, 2022, but had expired nearly two years ago.

Earlier, at 2:25 PM on January 29, 2023, on National Highway 46, in Thanh Tien village, Vo Liet commune (Thanh Chuong district), a motorbike with license plate 37D1 - 790.XX, traveling in the direction of Ro Bridge - Thanh Thuy, collided head-on with a passenger car traveling in the opposite direction.

Following the violent collision, the motorcyclist died instantly at the scene. At the scene, the motorcycle lay in the middle of the road, its front end completely destroyed, and the victim lay on the side of the road about 15 meters from the point of impact.

“Hearing a loud crash, I ran out to the road and the passenger car had already sped away. The victim, thrown to the side of the road, was already dead, with a phone beside him. I quickly grabbed the phone and called several numbers in my contact list to inform his relatives,” a resident of Thanh Tien village, Vo Liet commune (Thanh Chuong district) shared. The victim was later identified as a police officer working at Prison No. 6 in Thanh Chuong district.

Mr. Nguyen Van A., residing in Dien Chau district, whose relative died because the driver who caused the accident did not take the victim to the hospital in time, said: "Traffic accidents are unintentional, but the driver who caused the accident should have faced the unfortunate situation and dealt with the consequences, taking the victim to the hospital in time. Even if they knew their loved one might not survive, the family would have felt less resentment and less haunted by the experience."

Investigate and handle strictly.

According to procedure, after receiving information about traffic accidents, authorities will quickly arrive at the scene to conduct an investigation; promptly review and collect relevant information, especially from victims and witnesses present at the scene, in order to understand the characteristics of the vehicle that caused the accident.

In addition, a review of camera locations along the route will be conducted to identify vehicles passing through before and after the accident; simultaneously, coordination with patrol teams and police units at the local level will be carried out to set up checkpoints along the routes and in the areas where the accident occurred.

However, the investigation and handling of hit-and-run accidents present numerous difficulties and obstacles for authorities, especially in cases occurring at night, when there is little traffic, or on routes where vehicles can travel at high speeds, such as National Highway 1A.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Anh Tuan, Head of the Traffic Accident Investigation, Resolution and Violation Handling Team of the Provincial Traffic Police Department: Many drivers of cars and motorcycles involved in traffic accidents flee the scene, taking advantage of nighttime, rainy weather, dark roads, and deserted areas to escape... In addition, to evade law enforcement, these individuals quickly hide or repair the damaged vehicles.

However, based on evidence at the scene combined with information and images provided by the public, authorities have always been able to track down the driver and handle the case according to regulations. This includes cases where the perpetrator fled hundreds of kilometers after causing the accident.

For example, the case of Vu Dinh Phi (34 years old, from Yen Thanh district, Nghe An province), the driver of a passenger bus involved in an accident on the evening of March 10, 2024, at Km9+500 on the Hue bypass road, which resulted in two deaths, after which the driver fled the scene. He was later discovered by authorities while in Nghe An.

According to local police officers, drivers fleeing the scene of an accident cause many negative consequences. First, victims may not receive timely assistance, potentially endangering their lives. Secondly, it complicates investigations because the scene is often disturbed. This type of violation is largely committed by young people and teenagers.

Dr. Trong Hai, a lawyer and Director of Trong Hai and Associates Law Firm, stated: According to the law, the driver who causes an accident must remain at the scene until police arrive, except in cases where they are injured and need to be taken to the hospital, or need to take an injured person to the hospital, or are threatened with death. However, they must immediately report to the nearest police station...

Driving a vehicle and then fleeing the scene after causing an accident demonstrates a disregard for the health and lives of others, a contempt for the law, and a decline in the moral character of the driver. This issue must be condemned and requires additional legal regulations to deter such behavior.

In addition to increasing penalties for those who cause accidents, authorities need to widely publicize these incidents to increase deterrence, educate, and raise awareness among road users. Furthermore, driving schools and authorities need to strengthen their efforts in promoting ethical driving practices among vehicle operators.

Most importantly, every road user must raise their own awareness and understand that: Causing an accident and then fleeing the scene without helping the injured is not only a violation of ethics and rules of conduct in traffic culture, but also a very serious violation of the law.