The accident occurred in the early hours of August 15 at Km40+600 of the expressway, through Tan Minh Commune in Lam Dong Province.

According to initial information, a truck with license plate 47H-029.XX had pulled into the emergency lane while traveling from Lam Dong toward Dong Nai after developing a mechanical problem.

A passenger bus with license plate 50H-947.XX, driven in the same direction by D.M.Q., born in 1984 and a resident of Khanh Hoa Province, then slammed into the back of the stationary truck.

The impact severely crushed and deformed the front of the bus, while the rear of the truck was also damaged.

A Russian woman born in 1988 was killed in the crash. Another Russian passenger, born in 1983, suffered a broken leg and was taken to hospital for emergency treatment.

Driver says he was drowsy

During initial questioning, Q. admitted that he had been driving while feeling sleepy, which led to the crash, according to authorities investigating the accident.

The truck driver, B.T.T., born in 1987 and a resident of Dak Lak Province, told investigators that he noticed a problem with his vehicle while traveling on the expressway and moved it into the emergency stopping lane.

T. then got out of the truck to place a warning sign behind the vehicle.

However, he said that as he was walking from the front toward the rear of the truck, he had only reached about halfway along the vehicle and had not yet been able to put the warning in place when the passenger bus approached and struck the truck from behind.

Data from the truck's journey monitoring system showed that it had been stationary for only about one minute before the collision occurred.

Based on the two drivers' initial statements, authorities preliminarily determined that the crash occurred because the bus driver failed to maintain proper observation of the road while drowsy and consequently collided with the truck stopped ahead.

At the time of the accident, the passenger bus was carrying 18 foreign nationals.

After receiving reports of the crash, officers from Expressway Traffic Police Team No. 6, under Division 6 of the Traffic Police Department, quickly arrived at the scene.

They coordinated with other relevant agencies to carry out rescue operations, regulate traffic and secure the crash site for investigation.

Authorities in Lam Dong Province are continuing to investigate the circumstances and determine the full cause of the accident.

Hoang Anh - Xuan Ngoc