One minute of carelessness, the driver 'drove' his life into prison

Tragic accident

Nguyen Duy Quan (37 years old), residing in Nghi Cong Nam commune, Nghi Loc district, is a driver for a transport company. Quan has a class C driver's license and has many years of experience behind the wheel.

Thanks to the job of a driver, Quan has been able to support his small family. Although life is not yet abundant, compared to many other jobs, this job gives Quan a good income. Quan is aware of that and works hard. But then, because of his own subjectivity, Quan had to pay a heavy price, causing an accident.traffic accidentcausing the death of 3 mother and children.

The serious accident occurred in the early morning of March 6, 2023. That morning, Ms. Nguyen Thi H. (26 years old, residing in Hung Trung commune, Hung Nguyen district) used a motorbike to take her 3 young children to school.

While on the road, her motorbike was hit from behind by a truck driven by Quan. The reason was that the driver was not observing, did not keep a safe distance and was too busy looking at the truck in front of him.

In a moment, the car and Ms. H. and her four children were swept under the chassis of a Howo car, which was carrying construction materials and rocks, and was 30% overloaded.

As a result, Ms. H. and her two children (9 and 7 years old) died on the spot. The 5-year-old child was injured and was taken to the emergency room for treatment, with a 3% body injury rate. As for Quan, after causing the accident, he left the scene and then turned himself in to the police.

Driver's regret

With a humble look, leaning his hands on the witness stand several times, the defendant Quan explained that his father had passed away, and that he was the first child in a family of four siblings, so he always tried his best. After finishing high school, Quan did not go to university but chose to learn to drive to make a living. This young man had a class C driver's license and about 3 years of experience as a truck driver.

The defendant always told himself to work hard to take care of his wife, children and family. However, the serious accident left all his plans unfinished. The defendant himself had to face the judgment of the law. More than that, the serious accident caused the victim's family to suffer great pain when the husband and father lost both his wife and two young children at the same time.

At the trial, the defendant admitted that while driving, he was not paying attention, did not control his speed, and did not keep a safe distance, causing the truck he was driving to collide with the victim's motorbike.

Quan explained that during his many years of working as a driver, he could not avoid risks such as minor collisions on the road. However, causing a fatal accident was an accident that was unexpected, and he had never mentally prepared himself for this bad situation. “During my detention, I was always thinking about it, feeling guilty towards the three victims. I feel very remorseful, if only…”, Quan left the sentence unfinished.

In the presence of the victim’s representative, the defendant apologized to the victim’s family many times. After the incident, the defendant influenced the victim’s family and the company to compensate the victim’s family nearly 640 million VND. The defendant asked the court to consider reducing the sentence so that he could soon return to work to earn a living, support his family, and rebuild his life.

At the trial, the panel of judges reminded the public that in recent times, many traffic accidents have occurred, causing many families to lose loved ones, some of whom are disabled. The cause is partly due to the subjectivity of some drivers, and only regretting the consequences when it is too late. The case is a general warning for those who hold the steering wheel to drive with responsibility and dedication.

In this case, the defendant committed a mistake due to negligence, but there were also some mitigating circumstances such as turning himself in, confessing honestly, repenting, and influencing the family to compensate part of the victim's mental damage. Therefore, the court sentenced Nguyen Duy Quan to 7 years and 6 months in prison. Regarding the civil part, the court ordered the company that signed the contract to hire Quan to compensate the victim's family 690 million VND (deducted from the amount already compensated) and provide 1.8 million VND per month for the 5-year-old child until he turns 18. After that, according to civil law, the defendant is responsible for returning part or all of the compensation to the victim according to the agreement between the two parties.

Currently, with millions of drivers driving every day to earn a living, most of them are the pillars of their families, driving to earn a living. However, there are still a number of drivers who are subjective, too confident in their driving skills and experience, and in a moment of carelessness, commit crimes, "steering" their lives into legal trouble and prison. The case is a valuable lesson not only for Quan but also for drivers, to drive with all their responsibility and heart.

Tran Vu