Trial of driver who drove car into oncoming lane, killing 3 people
(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of September 29, the People's Court of Quy Hop district opened the first instance trial of the criminal case against Truong Quoc Trung (born 1983), residing in Tho Hop commune, for the crime of "Violating regulations on controlling road vehicles".
According to the investigation results, at about 4:30 p.m. on March 31, 2017, Truong Quoc Trung drove a truck with license plate 37C-041.81 (belonging to Long Anh Company Limited) in the direction of Quy Hop - Nghia Dan. When reaching km 50+800 of National Highway 48 in Lien Xuan hamlet, Nghia Xuan commune (Quy Hop), the car driven by Trung encroached on the lane of the vehicle going in the opposite direction.
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Defendant Truong Quoc Trung. Photo: Phan Giang |
When about 150 meters away, Trung saw a Minh Hoan passenger car with license plate 37B-020.20 driven by Le Khac Cuong going in the opposite direction. Seeing that, Trung braked to control the car to the right side of the road to avoid the passenger car.
At that time, it was drizzling and the road was slippery, so as soon as Trung braked, the rear wheel of the car he was driving slipped, causing the car to lose control. Trung pressed the brake pedal hard, causing the rear wheel of the car to slide sideways into the lane of the oncoming passenger bus.
The rear of the truck collided with the left side of the passenger car, causing severe damage to the passenger car and killing three people in the car, including Ms. Pham Thi Hue in Kim Son town (Que Phong), Ms. Lo Thi Minh in Chau Tien commune and Vi Minh Hao (born 2017) in Chau Hoi commune, all in Quy Chau district. He died on the spot. Mr. Vi Minh Quy, Hao's father, had a broken left arm and was injured in the head.
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Vi Minh Hao's mother asked the jury to reduce the sentence for defendant Truong Quoc Trung. Photo: Phan Giang |
Trung's statements about the cause of the accident at the investigation agency were consistent with the statements of witnesses.
The asset valuation conclusion of the Nghe An Asset Valuation Council reflects the total damage value of the two trucks and the passenger bus as 406 million VND.
After the accident, the Director of Long Anh Company and the family of the defendant Truong Quoc Trung agreed to compensate the two families of the victims, including Pham Thi Hue and Lo Thi Minh, each family 120 million VND, the family of Mr. Quy and his son Vi Minh Hao 170 million VND and the owner of the passenger car 900 million VND by buying back the passenger car.
At the trial, defendant Trung confessed to all his crimes and apologized to the victims’ families. Also at the trial, the victims’ families asked the panel of judges to reduce the sentence for Truong Quoc Trung.
The People's Court sentenced defendant Truong Quoc Trung to 4 years and 6 months in prison for the crime of "Violating regulations on controlling road vehicles" as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 202 of the Penal Code.
Phan Giang