The tragic accident occurred when 25 third graders of Ha Huy Giap Elementary School arrived at school after having lunch at their teacher's home in Bien Hoa Town, Dong Nai Province, adjacent to Ho Chi Minh City.
When arriving at the school gate, the bus stopped and the children got off. There were no assistants or teachers on the bus at that time.
However, as a girl was about to disembark, the driver suddenly backed up the bus to turn it around as he thought all students had already left the vehicle.
The girl was knocked off the bus, fell, and was run over by the back wheels of the bus.
The bus ride between the teacher's home and the school every afternoon is a service requested by the parents, who work full-time and thus drop their children at the teacher's house from the morning. The children study with the teacher as an extra class and have lunch there before their school hours in the afternoon.
Public schools in Vietnam do not offer bus delivery service, leaving parents to take care of the transport.