Horror on roads as one killed, another critical
Local | Yupina Ng 6 May 2016
An elderly woman was killed and another seriously injured when they were knocked down in separate traffic incidents in Kowloon yesterday.
The fatal incident occurred at 1.18pm when a 70-year-old pedestrian was hit by a minibus as she was crossing Sai Yee Street in Mong Kok.
The driver stopped the minibus immediately but the woman, surnamed Ko, was trapped underneath.
Firefighters removed the unconscious woman, gave her first aid and sent her to Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei where she was pronounced dead.
Police arrested the 69-year-old driver, surnamed Pan, under suspicion of dangerous driving causing death.
Kowloon West traffic unit senior inspector Sun Lun-yum said he believed that the woman may have been crossing the street against a pedestrian red light on her way home and heading toward a bus stop.
The site is not a traffic black spot.
The seriously injured woman, surnamed Lee, 65, was knocked down at 9.41am by a van traveling downhill along Tung Ming Street toward Ngau Tau Kok Road in Ngau Tau Kok.
The van continued to move forward after hitting Lee and smashed into a skip which was loaded with construction waste and parked on the roadside, according to police.
Lee suffered a serious head injury and was sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan where she was admitted in critical condition.
Police arrested the 60-year-old van driver, surnamed Choi, on suspicion of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm.
He reportedly told police officers that the brakes were not functioning at the time of the incident. Choi, who passed an alcohol breath test, suffered a right leg injury but refused to go to hospital.
Senior inspector Chan Chi-lun of the Kowloon East traffic unit said officers are investigating the cause of accident, including a tire mark found at the scene.
"We believe the tire mark belongs to the van," Chan said, adding the site also is not a traffic black spot.
Chan said the woman was crossing the road on a green light for pedestrians when she was knocked down.
Chan quoted the driver as saying he had delivered towels on Tung Ming Street near Kung Lok Road, one kilometer from the scene, before driving downhill.
