Driver lacked observation, caused accident, 2 people injured and died

On July 17, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened an appeal trial of defendant Nguyen Huu Chinh (born 1984), residing in Bach Ha commune, Nghe An (formerly Dai Son commune, Do Luong district) for the crime of "Violation of regulations on road traffic participation".

According to the case file, at about 9:15 p.m. on February 23, 2024, Nguyen Huu Chinh was driving a car on National Highway 48E. When he reached Dong Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district (now Quang Dong commune), due to not paying attention and not keeping a safe distance, he collided with a motorbike traveling in the same direction driven by Nguyen TM (born in 1987, residing in Quang Dong commune) carrying behind Nguyen TV (born in 1951).

After the collision with the motorbike, Chinh stopped the car, got out to check and saw Mr. M. lying near the edge of the road, Mr. V. lying in the ditch, and the motorbike lying in the middle of the right side of the road.

Unexpectedly, about 5 minutes later, Mr. Truong Van Hoa (born in 1980) drove a car that crashed into the motorbike and continued to crash into Chinh's car. As a result, Chinh's car fell into the water, and Mr. V. died on the spot.

Mr. M. was injured and taken to the hospital by local people for emergency treatment. He was treated until May 17, 2024, when he was discharged from the hospital and returned home for treatment.

After causing the accident, Nguyen Huu Chinh turned himself in to the police and confessed to his crime.

The authorities have assessed the injuries of Mr. Nguyen TM and concluded that the percentage of M.'s body injury at the time of assessment was 87%. As for Mr. V., because the victim's family refused to conduct an autopsy, the cause of death could not be determined.

Authorities also determined that at the time of the accident, Nguyen Huu Chinh's Class C driver's license had expired for more than a year, so this driver was considered to have no driver's license. At the same time, authorities determined that driver Chinh tested positive for drugs.

The first instance court, conducted by the People's Court of Yen Thanh district, sentenced Nguyen Huu Chinh to 3 years in prison. Regarding the civil case, the court ordered the defendant to compensate the victim with more than 500 million VND (previously, the defendant had compensated the victim with 110 million VND).

Afterwards, the victim Nguyen TM filed an appeal requesting an increase in the prison sentence for the defendant Chinh and an increase in civil compensation.

At the appeal hearing, the victim’s representative presented the mental damage that Mr. M. is currently experiencing after the accident. Due to a traumatic brain injury, the victim is currently unconscious, always needs someone to take care of him and spends a lot of money on medicine…

Responding to the court’s questions, Chinh stated that it was drizzling that day, making it difficult for him to see clearly, causing him to crash into the victim’s motorbike. He also stated that he had used drugs two days before.

The defendant expressed remorse for his actions and accepted an additional compensation of 200 million VND and medical bills for the victim.

After the trial, the court decided to adjourn so that the victim's representative could provide additional documents on medication as a basis for requesting compensation from the defendant, and also summoned Mr. Hoa to verify some additional information in the case.