HCMC vice chairman seriously injured as car flips over on expressway

Binh was on his way from the city to the Mekong Delta when the accident took place at around 7:20 a.m., Senior Colonel Dong Thai Chien, deputy head of the Road Traffic Control and Supervision Department, said.

The car had crashed into the expressway divider before flipping over.

Binh was taken to the Long An Province General Hospital for treatment, while the driver of the car and Binh's secretary, who was also traveling with him in the SUV, escaped without serious injury.

Doctor Huynh Minh Phuc, director of Long An Health Department, said Binh was not breathing and his heart had stopped when he was hospitalized.

The car carrying HCMC vice chairman Le Hoa Binh is damaged after flipping over on HCMC - Trung Luong Expressway, March 29, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Diep

HCMC – Trung Luong Expressway is the only expressway connecting the city with the Mekong Delta. Since January 2019 when the toll collection stopped, traffic flow has increased by 30 percent and more than 200 accidents have happened along the route.

A native of the central Quang Ngai Province, Binh, 52, became deputy chairman for the 2021-26 term last December.

As vice chairman, he is in charge of urban planning, management and development, land, resources and environment management, traffic, transportation, water supply, and drainage.In 2014 he was deputy director of the city Department of Construction, and was then elected to the Party Committee for 2015-20 term.

The accident happened when he was on his way to Ben Tre Province to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of Rach Mieu 2 Bridge that will connect Ben Tre and Tien Giang in the Mekong Delta.