A Mercedes S450 collided with multiple motorbikes at a red light in HCM City on Sunday afternoon, resulting in one fatality and five injuries. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — One person was killed when a car driven by a 41-year-old woman, who tested positive for alcohol, collided with several motorbikes at a red light in HCM City on Sunday afternoon.

The victim, a 28-year-old woman from Đồng Nai Province, suffered multiple injuries and died nearly 24 hours after the accident. She was struck from behind by a Mercedes S450, which pushed her motorcycle underneath for over 20 metres.

The collision injured five others, who were taken to Eastern Military Hospital for treatment. Their health conditions are stable now.

Following the incident, the driver was taken to the police station for questioning, where she confessed to mistakenly pressing the accelerator instead of the brake as she approached the intersection.

The police also reported that the driver exhibited a blood alcohol concentration of 0.6 mg/l, exceeding the legal limit. Initially uncooperative, she later admitted to consuming alcohol before driving.

The accident occurred on Võ Nguyên Giáp Street at the Thủ Đức intersection, a key thoroughfare in Việt Nam’s largest city.

The investigation is ongoing.

This isn’t the first accident of a driver mistakenly pressing the accelerator instead of the brake.

In 2020, ten people were seriously injured when a woman lost control of her Toyota Camry and crashed into eight motorbikes at a red light at a HCM City intersection.

She later admitted to stepping on the accelerator instead of the brake. — VNS