The 17-year-old son of a senior customs official injured a street cleaner during a car crash in Phnom Penh Thursday morning, then fled the scene in his father’s Toyota Land Cruiser, police said.
Chea Sambath, son of Kampot province customs department Director Som Sokha, was pulled over by pursuing police on street 228 at around noon after hitting Cintri employee Sok Saven at high speed on Sothearos Boulevard, said Chea Sothy, a policeman in Daun Penh district’s Chaktomuk commune.
“I drove at about 80 kilometers per hour,” Chea Sambath told a reporter at the scene. “I did not see her,” he said of the cleaner, adding that he felt remorseful, but did not stop to help the victim because he was afraid.
Tin Praseur, chief of the municipal traffic police, said by telephone that the crash was an accident, and Chea Sambath would not be arrested as a financial payment will be given to the victim.
“We have called the boy for questioning and compensation will be paid,” Tin Praseur said.
Chea Sambath said he is in Phnom Penh while on holiday from high school in Canada and that the $100,000, 2006 Land Cruiser belonged to his father.
Som Sokha declined comment on his son crashing his Land Cruiser, saying he was too busy at a seminar to speak to a reporter.
At Phnom Penh’s Vibol Sok Hospital, Sok Saven was recovering from injuries to her head, hip and knee, and appeared to be in a stable condition on Thursday afternoon.
The 45-year-old mother of three, who earns $50 per month, said the boy’s family have agreed to cover all her medical costs. She also said that Chea Sambath’s car first smashed into a bicycle, which then slammed into her.
