An automobile accident on the outskirts of Pyongyang has left about 10 people dead or injured, including the daughter of a high-ranking Workers’ Party Central Committee official, Daily NK has learned.
According to a Daily NK source in Pyongyang on Wednesday, a mid-sized bus collided with a 10-ton truck coming the other way on the outskirts of the capital around 9 PM on Oct. 18.
Four of the roughly 20 people on the bus were immediately killed, while 12 suffered serious injuries.
The bus was carrying cadres and staff from Pyongyang’s people’s committee, returning back to the city after completing work on nearby farms as part of the autumn harvest labor mobilization.
The accident killed the newly married daughter of a high-ranking Workers’ Party Central Committee cadre just two months after her wedding, prompting the Pyongyang police to launch a prompt investigation of the accident.
In ordinary investigations, the police drag things out and conclude matters in favor of the side that bribes them the most, the source said.
“This time, however, the city branch of the Ministry of Social Security quickly launched an investigation, perhaps because the daughter of a high-ranking Workers’ Party Central Committee cadre died,” he said.
The police investigation found that the accident occurred because the driver of the truck fell asleep at the wheel.
The driver of the truck confessed during questioning that he was dozing off at the wheel when he could see little ahead of him in the dark, and that he believed he ran into the bus “due to an [optical] illusion, even though he saw the oncoming vehicle.”
The source said the truck driver will likely receive more than 15 years of forced labor “because four people lost their lives, even though he did not maliciously or intentionally collide with the bus.”
Passengers who suffered broken ribs or arms are undergoing treatment at a hospital. “They will likely have to spend six months or more in the hospital,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Security called on city and county branches across the country to “take thorough preventative measures against transport vehicle accidents and incidents, including falling asleep at the wheel and drunk driving involving vehicles mobilized for the autumn harvest.”
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