Bus driver charged with negligent homicide

The scene of the fatal bus accident earlier this month

The part-time bus driver who was involved in a fatal bus accident earlier this month has been charged with criminally negligent homicide.

The 32-year-old bus driver was said to have mistakenly stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake, causing the death of a 67-year-old local woman on R. de Francisco Xavier Pereira and injuring at least four others.

The woman was squeezed between two vehicles, and the driver of a private car was trapped inside his vehicle as a result of the accident. 

Criminally negligent homicide carries a maximum sentence of five years.

Last week, the Transport Bureau (DSAT) announced that the department has instructed bus companies to reduce the number of bus accidents by 10 percent, in response to the deadly accident.

It also called for the suspension of 30 part-time bus drivers for safety reasons as “the resting time of non-permanent drivers cannot be ensured, and the associated risks are higher than full-time drivers’.”

Also, early last week, the PSP announced a car accident involving a local woman at a zebra crossing in Lam Mau Tong district who was hit by a van. According to the police, the male driver, a non-resident worker, failed to give way to the woman.

The police earlier said that the driver of the van is a non- resident worker, and they are investigating whether he is working legally in the region.