Bringing the death toll to eight, another victim of last week’s tragic car crash on Monivong Boulevard has died from injuries sustained in the hit-and-run accident, authorities said Sunday.
In critical condition for four days, Ly Kim Sreng, 25, died in a local hospital Friday, said Mao Sony, deputy chief of Phnom Penh’s municipal traffic police department.
Seven other people, including five children between the ages of 11 and 17, were killed on Sept 12 when a speeding Toyota Camry swerved into a crowd by a busy fruit-juice stand late at night.
Police have arrested a 31-year-old military police official, identified as Chhorn Kunthy from Takeo province, in connection with the deadly crash.
After the accident, two men got out of the car and appeared to stumble around before running off, police and witnesses said. One man, who managed to avoid capture right after the crash, is still at large due to lack of evidence, Mao Sony said.
Chhorn Kunthy and an accomplice had been drinking in a beer garden before losing control of their speeding vehicle as they traveled on Monivong Boulevard, Mao Sony said, adding that it was unclear which of the pair was driving the car at the time of the crash.
The ninth victim of last week’s crash, Kiet Sophal, 27, has awoken from a coma and is now slowly recuperating from critical injuries at Preah Bat Norodom Sihanouk Hospital, according to his wife.
Jean Van Wetter, a road safety coordinator with Handicap International Belgium, said that last week’s hit-and-run accident in Chamkar Mon district was not an isolated case.
During the nine-month period between October 2004 and August 2005, van Wetter said the agency has identified 47 cases of hit-and-run traffic accidents involving at least one fatality.
A Handicap International Belgium statement said that many of the people who caused the deadly accidents have never been apprehended by the authorities.
