Traffic police in Preah Sihanouk province are investigating an April 3 accident which killed a motorcyclist and his passenger – along with the driver of the mobile crane and his assistant – in Sihanoukville’s Commune IV.
Provincial deputy traffic police chief Y Sokha said the motorcyclist, a 76-year-old Canadian named Jean Charles, and his Cambodian wife, who had not been identified, were killed in the accident. The driver of the mobile crane, known only as Lo, 22, and his assistant, Yuk, 23, were also killed.
“My officers are continuing their investigations. The truck is a mobile crane, but we have not yet ascertained whether it belongs to a company,” he said.
Citing witnesses, he said that at around 11am, the crane was travelling down the road from Klaing Leu Market to O’Bei village. The crane struck the Canadian man and his wife, killing them instantly, and then ploughed into a house which was still under construction.
Deputy National Police chief Him Yan said on April 4 that road accidents dropped significantly in 2020 and early 2021, while the Kingdom was in the grip of Covid-19. Accidents seemed to have risen in late 2021 and early 2022, while Covid-19 cases had fallen.
He added that in the past two years, Cambodia had suffered just 800 fatalities on the roads, with 3,000 people being injured. Back in 2019, more than 6,000 sustained injuries. From the fourth quarter of 2021 through the first quarter of 2022, the average daily death rate was up to 6 with nearly 20 people being injured each day.
“If we want to prevent the traffic toll from rising, we need to implement a three point plan. First, we must tighten our enforcement of traffic laws, and do so comprehensively and consistently. Then, we must identify people who escape us and catch them. Finally, we must educate the public on the rules and regulations that we expect them to follow,” Yan said.
