Chan Mukyuen, 49, one of the fatalities, was the sole breadwinner of his family of four. He is survived by his wife and two daughters, aged 10 and 13, the younger of whom suffers from leukemia.
Chan's widow was inconsolable at the Princess Margaret Hospital where her husband was certified dead. She said her husband might still be alive had he not taken on a new job to earn more money for his daughter's medical treatments.
She also slammed the Highway Department's contractor for not informing her about the incident. "They didn't contact me. I saw the news and felt something was wrong. I called up my husband but he didn't answer. I felt strange," she said. "His colleagues told me [he had an accident] it was too late. It is unreasonable that I had to call the company to find out if my husband was dead."
The widow said the whole family was supposed to go to Macau this summer. The other worker killed was Chan Fai, 41. A man surnamed Wong, 33, sustained multiple injuries and was admitted to Queen Margaret Hospital in a critical condition.
The cabbie, surnamed Lun,54, suffered minor injuries and was arrested for dangerous driving causing death. Police said he passed a breath test.
All three workers were hired by China Road and Bridge Corporation. A Highway Department spokesman said it will offer assistance to the victims' families. Police said they were investigating whether the cause of the accident was related to the slippery road due to the downpour or a mechanical failure in the taxi.
"An initial investigation showed that there were enough directional signs at the scene," said senior inspector Chan Wingfai of the New Territories South regional traffic unit.
"There was a warning sign 600 meters from the construction site. All workers were wearing safety vests during the accident." Police said the taxi was traveling on the third lane of Tsing Kwai Highway toward Kowloon shortly before 4.25am yesterday when it ran out of control and rammed a road construction vehicle that was parked on the second lane. It then careened across the road, mowing down the three workers near Mei Foo Sun Chuen and continuing for 50 meters before it stopped.
Low Shihcheung, deputy director of the taxi drivers branch of the Motor Transport Workers General Union, said one possible reason for the accident could be that the driver was tired or was dozing off during his night shift.
"Normally, one shift takes 10 hours. But some drivers want to earn more and work for 12 hours instead," he said.
Source: The Standard
