A court in Vietnam’s central province of Ha Tinh sentenced a local woman to 15 months in prison after she drove a car while under the influence of alcohol and fatally hit a man on the street.
Phan Thi Ngoc Minh, 23, received the sentence for “violating road traffic regulations.”
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Phan Thi Ngoc Minh (C) is arrested after causing a deadly accident in January 2024. Photo by police |
According to the verdict, around 1 a.m. on Jan. 14, after a drinking session with friends in Cam Xuyen Town, Minh drove her 5-seater car on National Highway 1, heading south to her home. She was driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.385 mg/liter of breath.
Along the way, her car collided with truck driver Le Ngoc Quang, 34, a native of central Phu Yen Province, while he was checking his tires on the roadside.
The accident killed Quang immediately, and the front of Minh’s car was embedded in the side of the truck.
According to the investigation, while driving, Minh noticed the truck around 8-10 meters ahead but could not control the speed when approaching, resulting in the accident.
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The scene of the accident early in the morning of Jan. 14, 2024. Photo by police |
In court, Minh cried and expressed remorse, and hoped for leniency so she could return home to atone and care for her young child.
The judges noted that although Minh had consumed alcohol, she still chose to drive, posing a danger to society and affecting public order in the area.
However, she received mitigating circumstances as she is a single mother raising a young child, voluntarily compensated for the consequences after the accident, and the victim’s family requested a reduced sentence.
