A 32-year-old man was killed in Phnom Penh early Monday morning when the motorbike he was driving was hit by a speeding Toyota Land Cruiser, whose driver fled on foot after dragging the bike under his SUV for about a kilometer, police said.
Khem Chakriya—a native of Battambang province visiting relatives in the capital—was driving his Suzuki Viva north on Street 105 in Prampi Makara district’s Boeng Prolit commune at about 3:10 a.m. when he was broadsided by the SUV at the intersection of Street 214, according to deputy municipal traffic police chief Seng Chanthorn.
Rather than stop, however, the driver of the Land Cruiser accelerated away from the scene, dragging the motorbike to Chamkar Mon district’s Boeng Keng Kang I commune, about 1 km away, Mr. Chanthorn said.
“The victim was brought…to Calmette Hospital, but unfortunately he passed away when he arrived there,” he said, adding that Khem Chakriya succumbed to head trauma.
Sem Kunthea, another deputy municipal traffic police chief, who is leading the investigation into the case, said his officers were still hunting for the driver.
“Our forces are working hard to search for the driver, to punish him according to the law. But as of this evening, we still have not arrested anyone,” Mr. Kunthea said.
Both vehicles are being kept at the municipal traffic police headquarters, he added.
A statement posted to the National Police website Monday offered a somewhat different account of the hit-and-run.
According to the statement, a second man was riding the motorbike with Khem Chakriya at the time of the accident and survived with serious injuries. It also says that the driver of the Land Cruiser dragged the motorbike for 3 km, rather than just one.
A photo accompanying the statement shows the white SUV stopped on a dark street, its front bumper badly dented and left headlight smashed. The motorbike is wedged beneath the chassis.
