A car is taken to the police station for investigation after hitting a series of vehicles in HCMC on November 12, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Dinh Van
A driver who rammed his seven-seater car into five vehicles in HCMC’s Thu Duc town on Sunday, killing an 18-year-old girl, said he was organizing a drinking party.
Pham Cao Tri, 39, was arrested by Thu Duc City police on Monday to be investigated for offenses related to a series of traffic accidents on Nguyen Van Tang Street. Blood tests revealed there was alcohol in his system, police said.
Tri said he was having a drinking party with friends at a nearby apartment. Before the series of collisions, Tri said his car had already collided with another car so he could not control his speed.
The series of accidents occurred around 4:30 p.m. while Tri was driving towards the Vinhomes Grand Park urban area towards the Hanoi Expressway in Thu Duc city.
Arriving at an intersection, his car collided with two other cars coming in the opposite direction, then hit three motorcycles, two on the road and one parked on the sidewalks.
The seven-seater car continued to hit the wall of a drinks stall before stopping. The series of impacts killed the 18-year-old girl on the motorcycle who was a student and injured two other people.
Tung, the owner of the house the car crashed into, said Tri got out of the vehicle with fatigue on his face and showed signs of drinking. The driver was taken to the police station by locals.
Vietnam prohibits drivers from consuming alcohol in any quantity. Violators will receive cash fines and license revocation, or face criminal charges if they cause injury to others or death.