More than a dozen people were injured in Phnom Penh on Monday when the driver of a truck carrying sand veered into oncoming traffic and collided with a minibus, according to police.
The crash occurred at about 2:10 p.m. on National Road 3 in Dangkao district’s Pong Toek commune, and district police chief Choem Sitha laid the blame squarely at the feet of the truck driver.
“The truck transporting sand was at fault because it crashed into the right side of the tour bus,” he said, adding that the bus driver and 14 passengers were injured.
Mr. Sitha’s deputy, Neak Naro, said the truck driver fled the scene at some point after the collision but that authorities did not see him leave, as they were busy tending to the victims.
“Now our police are looking for the driver of the truck,” he said.
Chev Hak, chief of the municipal traffic police bureau, said 16 people were wounded in the crash, including the driver and five children.
Eight people, he said, sustained serious injuries and were being treated at the Preah Kossamak Hospital and the National Pediatric Hospital.
