The tragic family situation of the couple about to get married who died in an accident on the Cam Lo - La Son highway

Unfinished project

On the afternoon of March 12, local authorities and his family held a funeral for Cut Van S. (20 years old, Khe Nap village, Bao Nam commune, Ky Son). S. was one of two victims who died in a traffic accident on the Cam Lo - La Son highway two days ago. The other victim was Son's fiancee, Cut Thi Ph. (17 years old).

Although the couple had a 7-month-old son together, Ms. Ph. had also moved to Mr. S.'s house for nearly a year now, but because the wedding procedures had not been completed, the funerals of the unfortunate couple took place in two places. After transporting the husband's body to Bao Nam commune, the ambulance had to quickly turn around and go back to Pha Danh commune, more than 50km away, to hand over Ms. Ph.'s body to her parents for burial.

In the rickety stilt house perched precariously on the mountainside, there were sobs from Mr. Cut Pho Bay and his wife, S.'s biological parents. "Before getting on the bus to the South to work, he and his wife happily talked about their plans. Unexpectedly, everything remained unfinished," Mr. Bay said, tears rolling down his haggard face.

In Bao Nam commune, Mr. Bay's family is in a particularly difficult situation, having to earn a living from meal to meal. Like other Khmu couples in Khe Nap village, Mr. Bay and his wife have many children, up to 5. Of which, S. is the second son. Although he is only 42 years old this year, Mr. Bay already has 3 grandchildren. The eldest son has been married for a long time, and his 2 children are now in elementary school. However, due to difficult family circumstances, the whole family of more than 10 people still has to live together in a cramped stilt house.

Recently, Mr. Bay’s family was given a prefabricated house made of corrugated iron by the Ministry of Public Security. At this time, the eldest son and his wife have a place to live separately, while the rest of the family still lives in a stilt house made of mixed wood planks and bamboo.

Mr. Bay said that because of his family's difficult circumstances, S. dropped out of school at a young age and followed his parents to the fields to help. When he was a little older, S. followed a young man in the village to Binh Phuoc to tap rubber for hire. Two years ago, S. met Cut Thi Ph. when they both worked on a rubber plantation. "We both wanted to get married, but we didn't have money. After getting pregnant, Ph. moved to our house to live. We had considered her our daughter-in-law for a long time, even though we hadn't done any paperwork. We both planned to wait until our son was strong enough to send him back to his grandparents to take care of, then continue to go to Binh Phuoc to tap rubber for hire, earn money to organize a wedding. Who would have thought that mourning clothes would replace wedding clothes," Mr. Bay said.

According to Mr. Cut Van Thang - Vice Chairman of Bao Nam Commune People's Committee, Mr. Bay's family is one of the most difficult in the commune. "The victim's family situation is very difficult. Even though he has a child, he still has no money to organize a wedding. After receiving the information, the leaders of the Commune People's Committee came to encourage, visit, and give gifts. The commune also assigned staff to support the family in organizing the funeral," said Mr. Thang.

Meanwhile, in Pha Danh commune, the local government and family also held a funeral for Ms. Cut Thi Ph. on the afternoon of March 12. According to Ms. Vi Thi Thanh - Chairman of the People's Committee of Pha Danh commune, Ms. Ph.'s biological parents are also among the most disadvantaged in the commune. "It is very sad that the couple had to hold funerals in two places and were not buried close to each other. Although they had children together and lived together as husband and wife, because they had not yet held a wedding and had not completed the procedures, local customs still required the wife to return to her parents' house," Ms. Thanh said.

Ph. is the eldest daughter in a family of four children. For many years, Ph.'s parents have often gone to the South to work as rubber tappers. The four children had to depend on each other in a dilapidated stilt house. Because of the responsibility of taking care of her younger siblings, Ph. is more mature than her peers. Before finishing secondary school, Ph. also followed her parents to the South to work as hired laborers, leaving her younger siblings to be looked after by neighbors.

“The husband’s family is also poor, and the wife’s family is even poorer. So the two of them still cannot get married. Luckily, Ph.’s parents were recently given a house by the Ministry of Public Security, so they have a place to take shelter. As for the old stilt house, every time it rains, there is no place that doesn’t leak,” added the Chairman of the People’s Committee of Pha Danh Commune.

On the morning of March 10, Ms. Ph. called her parents, arranged to meet in the South, and then boarded the fateful bus with her husband. “My husband and I originally planned to take that bus with our two children. But then something happened so we postponed it, planning to take another bus the next day. However, the next morning, while we were packing our bags to go to the South, we heard the bad news,” said Mr. Cut Van Kiem.

The fateful ride

More than 2 days after the accident, 8 injured victims are still being treated at Hue Central Hospital, branch 2 in Phong An commune, Phong Dien district, Thua Thien - Hue province.

According to the victims, the 2-seater, 44-seater sleeper bus of Duong Thao bus company departed from Muong Xen town, Ky Son district on the morning of March 10. Nearly 40 passengers were young workers of the Kho Mu ethnic group, residing in the mountainous district of Ky Son, who were going to the Southeast and Central Highlands to work as rubber tappers and cashew pickers. At 6:30 p.m., after stopping for dinner in Quang Tri province, driver Le Hoang Quan drove the sleeper bus along National Highway 9, then turned onto the Cam Lo - La Son expressway. Knowing that the expressway had no lights and that a serious accident had just occurred, the driver slowed down. The lights on the bus were also turned off so that the passengers could catch some sleep after the long journey from Nghe An.

At around 7:40 p.m., it was completely dark, drizzling, and the Cam Lo - La Son highway through Phong Son commune, Phong Dien district was gradually empty of vehicles. This section of road is only 12 meters wide, has two lanes, no emergency lane, no street lights, drivers identify the lanes by reflective paint. The sleeper bus was speeding when it encountered a truck parked and occupying nearly half of the right lane. Driver Quan said he was surprised so he turned to the left. However, only the front of the car avoided it, the rear of the car was torn apart due to the collision with the rear of the truck. To avoid flipping the car, the driver drove about 500 meters before stopping completely.

Lying on the third bunk from the bottom, Ms. Luong Thi Bich (23 years old, My Ly commune, Ky Son district), recounted the moment of the collision: "I was dozing off, suddenly I saw the car swaying violently, then there was a loud explosion. I woke up, turned around and saw the back of the car was empty, the young couple was nowhere to be seen". Trapped in the pile of iron frames with a tear in the head, Ms. Bich still tried to get up, saw her husband holding their 2-year-old son approaching. Some young people sitting at the front of the car took her to the side of the road to rest, waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

In the dark, amid cries of panic and pain, people turned on their lights to return to the collision site and saw the couple Cut Van S. and Cut Thi Ph. thrown to the side of the road, dead on the spot. Debris and belongings were scattered all over the road. Hue Central Hospital, branch two, said that the three seriously injured victims were Cut Van Huyen, 25, with a fractured posterior spine of the L4 vertebra; Cut Van Xuan, 32, with a brain hemorrhage and a broken nose; Cut Thi Phuon, 27, with a broken kneecap. The remaining five people suffered soft tissue injuries.

According to the Traffic Safety Committee of Thua Thien Hue province, at the time of the accident, the San Hien company truck driven by Phan Dinh Thanh, 36, had a flat tire and had to make an emergency stop. Driver Thanh did not immediately place a danger sign to warn other vehicles. Sleeper bus driver Le Hoang Quan did not pay attention and did not detect the truck in front, so he crashed. The two drivers were not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Regarding the vehicle speed, the Vietnam Road Administration reported that at 6:49 p.m., about an hour before the accident, the sleeper bus was traveling at 51 km/h. Both vehicles were still within the inspection period.

In the telegram dated March 11, the Prime Minister sent his condolences to the families of the deceased victims and directed the Chairman of the People's Committee and Head of the Traffic Safety Committee of Thua Thien Hue province to hold a conference with relevant agencies to assess the cause and overcome the shortcomings on the expressway. The Vietnam Road Administration reviewed and strengthened the organization of reasonable traffic on the Cam Lo - La Son expressway./.