Driver in deadly bus accident already had license revoked

The sleeper bus collided head-on a 16-seat van a National Highway 20 section at around 2:30 a.m. The accident killed four people on the van on the spot including the driver while another van passenger succumbed to injuries later.

Hoang Van Tinh, 37, the driver of the bus, on Sunday told the police of Dong Nai that his driving license had been revoked by traffic police of Lam Dong for three months due to speeding. He was detained on Saturday to be investigated for land traffic violations.

A representative of Thanh Buoi bus company, whose bus Tinh drove, said Tinh had a speeding violation but paid the fines himself, and the company was not aware of the fact that his license had already been revoked.

"We always check drivers' licenses, alcohol levels and other health criteria before allowing buses to leave the station. The driver might have used a fake license to trick the company," the representative said.

Camera footage revealed that before the accident happened, Tinh tried to get ahead of a truck moving in the same direction and collided with the back of the vehicle. The bus then swerved to the lane next and collided with the van, which was traveling in the opposite direction.

A representative of the road management unit 4 under the Departments for Roads of Vietnam said the Thanh Buoi bus was running at 69 kph right before the accident, which exceeded the speed limit in a neighborhood area at the time at 50 kph.

The 16-seat van meanwhile was traveling at a speed of 39-58 kph at around 1 a.m. on Saturday before speeding up gradually. Around 10 minutes before the accident happened, the speed of the van was recorded as 79 kph.

Tran Anh Son, vice director of Dong Nai police, on Saturday said the recent accident was the second in two months that involved Thanh Buoi buses on National Highway 20. Back in July, a driver of the bus company caused a traffic accident that killed two people. Since the beginning of the year, drivers of Thanh Buoi have been fined by Dong Nai police eight times for speeding, Son said.

Son said the police would work with representatives of Thanh Buoi to determine those responsible for the accident on Saturday.