The torment of a homemade car driver

(Baonghean.vn) - Each time he transported goods, he was paid 50 thousand dong. In the countryside, that amount of money is not small. Moreover, he innocently thought he did nothing wrong. Until one day...

Mr. NVĐ (from Dien Chau) came to court with a haggard face and worn-out clothes. His wife accompanied him, but perhaps the woman from the countryside rarely went to the city and was not used to going to offices, so she only dared to sit quietly at the back of the courtroom.

Today, Mr. D. came to court to ask for a reduction in his sentence. He was sentenced by the District People's Court to 6 months in prison for violating regulations on vehicle control causing serious consequences.

Homemade cars always pose many potential traffic accident risks. (Illustration photo)

In the countryside, he and his wife have a few meters of rice fields, but they have no extra jobs. Their two children are still in school, so they are always short of money. The family's biggest asset is a broken-down motorbike. He bought another steel-framed motorbike, the kind with an iron hook to attach to the motorbike seat, and worked as a transporter.

“That day, I received a call to hire me to transport a wooden cabinet for a customer. I tied the cabinet to a metal frame vehicle and drove away. When I reached Dien Chau town, I had to turn onto the road, but to save time, I went the wrong way. The modified vehicle hit a couple on a motorbike going in the opposite direction. The motorbike fell onto the road, and the woman sitting behind was thrown out. At that moment, a truck coming from behind ran over the woman, killing her,” said Mr. D.

After the incident, his family and the truck driver supported the family of the unfortunate victim with 50 million VND. He tried to borrow money to partially compensate the family because he was the cause of the incident, but how could he be at peace when he witnessed the painful death of that innocent woman?

For violating the regulations on driving a vehicle causing serious consequences, he was sentenced to 6 months in prison. He knew that his mistake was very serious, and he did not make any excuses, but if he went to prison, his two children might have to drop out of school because his wife was sick and could not handle the heavy work, and the farming was not much. Therefore, Mr. D. wrote an appeal, asking to change from prison to suspended sentence.

“I was wrong, many nights I couldn’t sleep thinking about it. Because of me, a person died unjustly. I know they were in pain from losing a loved one, but they loved my two children so much that they didn’t ask for a lot of compensation and even wrote a petition to reduce my sentence. The more they showed me their gratitude and love, the more I felt that my crime was too serious. But I am also a father, I have to take care of my family, take care of my two children’s education…”, the man looked as if he was about to cry.

Today, the victim's representative was not present, only sending a petition for a sentence reduction for Mr. D. Perhaps they did not want to hear what was written in the indictment because each line, each word made the pain even more painful. He knew they were in great pain, very sorry, even angry at the person who caused the unjust death of their loved one. But overcoming the pain, overcoming hatred, they sent a petition for a sentence reduction to the court, opening a way out for him. With the petition for a sentence reduction from the victim's representative, along with his sincerity, remorse, and lack of a criminal record, Mr. D. was considered for a sentence reduction from imprisonment to suspended sentence.

“Do you still transport goods on your homemade vehicle?” I asked. Mr. D.’s voice was sad but firm: “No, ma’am. I sold it. It’s hard to find extra work in the countryside now, but I don’t drive my homemade vehicle to transport goods for hire anymore. I earn a few bucks, but I’m afraid I’ll cause more trouble for people. Maybe in the future I’ll ask my construction team to let me work as a construction worker. It’s harder work, but it’s more peaceful.”

At noon, Mr. D. and his wife left the courthouse together. The joy of being reunited with his wife and children instead of having to serve their sentence in prison probably could not erase the regret and torment over the pain he had caused others, making his shoulders feel heavy. Seeing the haggard, older man leaving the courtroom, made him feel both angry and sorry…

Nhu Binh