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The scene of the accident on the morning of 4/9/2024 that resulted in the death of a 14-year-old student. Photo: Provided by residents
On 4/8, the People's Procuracy of Area 4 (Vinh Long province) issued an indictment prosecuting Nguyen Van Bao Trung, 34, residing in Tam Ngai commune, for violating road traffic regulations, as per point a, clause 1, article 260 of the Penal Code.
The People's Court of Area 4, Vinh Long province, will hear this case, which has drawn public attention.
According to the indictment, around 9:45 AM on 4/9/2024, while driving a truck through Vinh Loi hamlet, Vinh Xuan commune, Tra On district, Vinh Long province (formerly), Trung veered into the left lane to overtake a pickup truck stopped on the right shoulder.
At that moment, three female students were riding electric bicycles in the opposite direction. The student in front noticed Trung's truck encroaching on their lane and braked, coming to a stop. Consequently, the electric bicycle ridden by Nguyen Ngoc Bao Tran, who was carrying a friend behind her (both 14 years old), collided with the rear of the stopped bicycle. The impact caused Tran and her electric bicycle to fall to the left side of the road, where the front wheel of Trung's truck ran over her.
Tran sustained severe injuries and was rushed to the emergency room but died the same day. The two other female students were not injured.
Initially, the Tra On District Police decided not to prosecute the case, citing "no criminal offense." The victim's family filed an appeal, but both the Tra On District People's Procuracy and the Vinh Long Provincial People's Procuracy rejected their petition.
On the morning of 28/4/2025, Nguyen Vinh Phuc, 42, Tran's father, stormed into Trung's house with a handgun, shot him, and then committed suicide.
A few days later, upon reviewing the case files, the Supreme People's Procuracy determined that the decisions by the Tra On District People's Procuracy and the Vinh Long Provincial People's Procuracy to reject the appeals lacked legal grounds. The case file indicated that Trung had swerved and overtaken unsafely when there was an obstruction ahead and oncoming traffic. This behavior showed signs of violating road traffic regulations.
On 7/5/2025, the Vinh Long Provincial Police initiated criminal proceedings, identifying the driver Trung's act of veering into the left lane to overtake as the primary cause of the accident.
After nearly one month of treatment, Trung was discharged from the hospital with severe sequelae, including complete paralysis of one side of his body and almost total loss of consciousness. By 5/8/2025, he was prosecuted by the Vinh Long Provincial Police and released on bail.
During the investigation, authorities determined that the defendant Trung suffered from a mental illness, rendering him unable to perceive or control his actions, and was not lucid enough to communicate.
Therefore, in late 2025, the Vinh Long Provincial Police temporarily suspended the investigation of the case and the suspect Trung, allowing him to undergo medical treatment as required.
The student's family then petitioned the Ministry of Public Security and the Vinh Long Provincial Police to re-evaluate the driver's health.
By 8/7, following new forensic psychiatric assessment results from the Bien Hoa Central Institute of Forensic Psychiatry, the Vinh Long Provincial Police reinstated the investigation of the case and the driver Trung to further clarify and handle the matter according to legal regulations.
In late May 2025, the student's family submitted a crime report to the Investigative Agency of the Supreme People's Procuracy, requesting clarification of actions such as issuing illegal decisions and failing to prosecute crimes that occurred at the Tra On District Police (formerly) during the resolution of the traffic accident.
On 26/3, the Investigative Agency of the Supreme People's Procuracy issued a decision to initiate criminal proceedings for the crime of "failure to prosecute criminal responsibility for offenders." They also initiated proceedings and temporarily detained Le Quoc Viet, former Deputy Head of the Criminal Investigation Agency and former Deputy Chief of Tra On District Police (formerly), and Nguyen Quoc Khanh, a former investigator of the unit.
One month later, for the same offense, Phan Thi Truc Ly, former Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Tra On District People's Procuracy (formerly), and Le Phong Canh, former prosecutor, were prosecuted by the Investigative Agency of the Supreme People's Procuracy and released on bail.
Expanding the investigation, on 14/7, the Investigative Agency of the Supreme People's Procuracy initiated proceedings against Nguyen Hoang Van and Huynh Minh Trung, former Chief of Police and former Chief Prosecutor of Tra On District (formerly), respectively. Both are being investigated for "failure to prosecute criminal responsibility for offenders."
An Binh
