PHNOM PENH, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and eight others badly injured in a collision between an oil tanker and a motorcycle trailer early Wednesday in central Cambodia's Kampong Chhnang province, a local police chief said.
The fatal crash happened at around 3:30 a.m. local time on National Road 5 in Sameakki Mean Chey district when both vehicles were driving in the same direction and the oil tanker hit the motorcycle trailer from the back, Ly Na, chief of the province's traffic police department, said in a news release.
"Four persons, a motorcycle driver and three passengers, were pronounced dead and eight others sustained serious injuries in the crash," he said, adding that all victims traveled with the motorcycle trailer.
The oil tanker was blamed for the accident, as its driver escaped the scene soon after the accident, he said.
Road accidents are a leading cause of death in this Southeast Asian country, killing an average of five people per day. According to a government report, road crashes killed 1,709 people in 2022, up 14 percent year-on-year. ■