My condolences to the victim's family.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=29691&sid=10423905&con_type=3
Winnie Chong
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
A man was killed and 12 other people were injured, three seriously, when a double-decker bus mounted a pavement in Mong Kok after hitting a traffic light and crashing through pedestrian railings.
The entire roof of the Kowloon Motor Bus vehicle, on route 270A and heading for Sheung Shui, was ripped off as it struck the eaves of a building on Waterloo Road about 4.30pm.
Police said the 46-year-old driver, who was among the injured, apparently lost control of the vehicle that has been in service for four years.
Four of the injured, who included six men and six women aged between 23 and 72, were pedestrians while the rest were bus passengers.
They were taken to Kwong Wah and Queen Elizabeth hospitals.
Three of the injured were listed in a serious condition Tuesday night, while the others sustained only minor injuries.
The dead man was identified as Chan Ming-fook, 31, a DHL courier. He was trapped under the bus and had to be extricated by firemen.
He was certified dead in hospital an hour later.
According to a passenger, the bus was traveling "quite fast" at the time and there were about a dozen passengers aboard.
An eyewitness said he rushed out of a hairdressing salon after hearing a loud bang and saw a pedestrian pinned under the double-decker, while three other people were lying on the ground near the badly damaged vehicle. Most of the injured passengers were on the upper deck.
Superintendent Leung Sing-fai, of the Special Traffic Investigati
on and Support Division, Kowloon West, said the bus was not traveling at high speed at the time of the accident and that the driver had passed a breath-alcohol test.
The police said they will investigate whether the bus had any mechanical problems.
Waterloo Road was sealed for several hours after the accident. The bus was removed from the scene in the evening.
KMB head of corporate communications Susanne Ho said she had no doubt the bus was functioning normally because it had undergone regular checks only a few days ago. Ho said the driver, who has been with KMB for nine years, had started his shift at 2.50pm after having the previous day off.
Yau Tsim Mong district councillor Hui Tak-leung urged authorities to review road safety measures in the area around Waterloo Road and Yim Po Fong Street in view of heavy road construction works going on there.
The Transport Department has asked KMB to submit a report on the tragedy.
Director of Home Affairs Pamela Tan Kam Mi-wah went to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Tuesday night to offer her condolences to Chan's family.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=29691&sid=10423905&con_type=3
Winnie Chong
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
A man was killed and 12 other people were injured, three seriously, when a double-decker bus mounted a pavement in Mong Kok after hitting a traffic light and crashing through pedestrian railings.
The entire roof of the Kowloon Motor Bus vehicle, on route 270A and heading for Sheung Shui, was ripped off as it struck the eaves of a building on Waterloo Road about 4.30pm.
Police said the 46-year-old driver, who was among the injured, apparently lost control of the vehicle that has been in service for four years.
Four of the injured, who included six men and six women aged between 23 and 72, were pedestrians while the rest were bus passengers.
They were taken to Kwong Wah and Queen Elizabeth hospitals.
Three of the injured were listed in a serious condition Tuesday night, while the others sustained only minor injuries.
The dead man was identified as Chan Ming-fook, 31, a DHL courier. He was trapped under the bus and had to be extricated by firemen.
He was certified dead in hospital an hour later.
According to a passenger, the bus was traveling "quite fast" at the time and there were about a dozen passengers aboard.
An eyewitness said he rushed out of a hairdressing salon after hearing a loud bang and saw a pedestrian pinned under the double-decker, while three other people were lying on the ground near the badly damaged vehicle. Most of the injured passengers were on the upper deck.
Superintendent Leung Sing-fai, of the Special Traffic Investigati
on and Support Division, Kowloon West, said the bus was not traveling at high speed at the time of the accident and that the driver had passed a breath-alcohol test.
The police said they will investigate whether the bus had any mechanical problems.
Waterloo Road was sealed for several hours after the accident. The bus was removed from the scene in the evening.
KMB head of corporate communications Susanne Ho said she had no doubt the bus was functioning normally because it had undergone regular checks only a few days ago. Ho said the driver, who has been with KMB for nine years, had started his shift at 2.50pm after having the previous day off.
Yau Tsim Mong district councillor Hui Tak-leung urged authorities to review road safety measures in the area around Waterloo Road and Yim Po Fong Street in view of heavy road construction works going on there.
The Transport Department has asked KMB to submit a report on the tragedy.
Director of Home Affairs Pamela Tan Kam Mi-wah went to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Tuesday night to offer her condolences to Chan's family.
