The coach was severely damaged after the accident. Thirteen people were killed and four others injured after it hit a container truck on the stretch of National Highway 1A in the central province of Quảng Nam on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Đỗ Trưởng |
HÀ NỘI — The driver of the coach involved in a collision that killed 13 people in the central province of Quảng Nam on Monday lost control of the vehicle after falling asleep, said an official from the National Traffic Safety Committee.
Investigations by the committee show the coach swerved left and hit a truck travelling the opposite direction, Khuất Việt Hùng, vice chairman of the committee, revealed on Wednesday.
The coach had been carrying passengers on a contract basis without registering as a transportation business with the authorities, Hùng said.
“It is highly likely that the coach driver fell asleep at the wheel,” he told Vietnamnet. “He had driven two trips in a row without rest.”
Since the driver was killed in the accident, the owner of the coach will be held accountable for the accident where necessary, he added.
The coach was “swerving across the road” before it hit the truck, said the truck driver.
The Directorate for Roads of Việt Nam said it was unable to get the coach’s tracking data since the vehicle had not been registered with the authorities.
Thirteen people were killed and four others injured after the coach crashed into the container truck on Monday.
The coach was delivering a wedding party, escorting the groom from the central province of Quảng Nam to the bride’s house in the central province of Bình Định – some 500km from where it departed. The groom died at the scene. — VNS