An 18-year-old man was severely injured on Saturday when his motorbike collided with the car of the deputy provincial police chief in Pailin province, local police said.
Ny Bunthoeun was driving his motorbike, with his father and a neighbor on the backseat, through Pailin City when it collided with a Toyota Camry being driven by deputy police chief Pha Thea in the opposite direction, according to provincial traffic police chief Khlauk Salan.
“[Mr.] Bunthoeun was severely injured and is now receiving medical treatment at the provincial hospital after his motorbike collided with the car of the deputy police chief,” Mr. Salan said.
Mr. Salan said police would bring together both parties for a meeting today to negotiate an out-of-court settlement over the accident.
“We want to solve the problem out of the court system because this is a small problem,” he said.
Mr. Bunthoeun’s father Hem Sony emerged from the accident unscathed, while the other passenger, Taing Roth, 17, suffered minor injuries. Mr. Sony said the fault lay with the car’s driver, who swerved out of its lane to avoid a pothole and crashed into the bike.
“Mr. Deputy Police Chief drove his car to escape from a hole on his side and hit [my son’s] motorbike,” he said.
Kong Samnang, police chief of O’Tavao commune, where the accident occurred, confirmed this version of events. “The car was to blame, because it drove into the left side of the motorbike,” he said.
But Mr. Thea said it was in fact Mr. Bunthoeun who had crashed into his car.
“We didn’t want to have an accident, but it was the motorbike driver who tried to escape from the huge hole to get a good spot when he hit my car,” he said.
“We have scheduled to negotiate tomorrow. I will pay compensation if the authorities find that I am guilty.”
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Kong Samnang as the chief of O’Tavao commune. He is the commune police chief.
