2 drivers dead after bus rams into back of truck on West Kowloon highway

Two drivers were killed, and 16 others injured, after a double-decker bus slammed into a stationary truck on a highway this morning.

Speaking to reporters at a press briefing this afternoon, chief inspector Wong Sai-kwan from the investigation and support division of Kowloon West’s traffic unit said the accident happened at about 10:20am, when a truck broke down in the second lane of the West Kowloon Highway in Yau Ma Tei.

The truck’s driver, a 54-year-old surnamed So, had placed two objects in the road in an apparent attempt to let other vehicles know that he had stopped, then returned to the back of the truck.

About 10 minutes later, a 967 bus from Tin Shui Wai to Admiralty appeared and rammed into the rear of the truck, with So inside.

The bus driver, a 59-year-old surnamed Lam, was thrown out of the front of the bus, and was declared dead at the scene.

Dash cam footage circulating online shows the moment the bus rammed into the back of truck.

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So was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital with life-threatening injuries, and was later declared dead around 11:20am, on.cc reports.

Wong confirmed that 16 people were taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Kwong Wah Hospital to be treated for minor injuries. The 16 included 15 bus passengers — 10 female and five male — and one female passenger from the truck.

He confirmed that officers were looking into various factors such as Lam’s health and mental state, as well as the vehicle’s speed, to establish the cause of the crash. He also reminded commuters that if they find themselves in a similar situation, “they should walk to the roadside and seek help rather than putting something on the road or remaining on the road, especially on a highway.”