The driver of a truck that crashed into a bus stop near Tai Lam Tunnel and killed a woman had been driving for 16 hours when the accident happened, according to reports.
The 51-year-old driver, surnamed Lee, reportedly started his work day at 7am on Wednesday and was driving his truck towards Yuen Long at around 11pm that same evening, Apple Daily reports.
As he was driving along the Tsing Long Highway, Lee reportedly fell asleep at the wheel, losing control of his vehicle after passing through the toll booth at the end of the tunnel. The truck then veered left, crashed into a bus stop, slid down a slope, and landed on its side.
The crash killed Wang Xiaodan, a 27-year-old who worked as a clerk for a telecommunications company.
Wang, who had come to Hong Kong from the mainland, was waiting for her bus home to Hung Shui Kiu, a largely rural area between Tuen Mun and Yuen Long in the New Territories.
According to the SCMP, she lived with her father and her son. Her husband was in the mainland at the time of the accident.
Wang was living with her husband, and a 2-year-old son who is about to start pre-school. Local media previously reported the son was 1 year old.
Friends and relatives of Wang – accompanied by a Taoist priest – gathered at the scene of the incident yesterday to pay their respects, on.cc reports.
Four people were injured in the incident, including Lee, who was later arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
The incident has prompted calls for the authorities to do more to regulate working hours for drivers, with some in the industry saying such long shifts were common.
According to Apply Daily, most drivers work for 12 to 13 hours a day for a salary of about HK$20,000 (US$2,560) per month, Apple Daily reports.
The newspaper reports that there are no restrictions on working hours for drivers, adding that in most cases drivers can use the amount of time they spend in traffic as “overtime.”
