7 dead as driver hits gas not brake, car plunges into river

The Associated Press / Seattle Times | 4 April 2016

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A driver trying to ease his car onto a river ferry in Cambodia stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake, plunging the vehicle into the water and killing seven passengers, an official said Monday.

The tragedy happened late Sunday outside Phnom Penh as the car carrying 10 passengers and the driver was being loaded onto the ferry to cross the Basac river, provincial governor Mao Phirun said.

The driver was a mechanic and did not have driver’s license, he said. The car jumped off the ramp and fell into the river when the driver suddenly hit the gas pedal.

The passengers were returning home from a Buddhist ceremony in Sa Ang district, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital.

The victims included five children ranging in age from 4-13, according to a copy of the police report obtained by The Associated Press.

It said the driver, who is suspected to have been drunk, survived and was arrested. Three other passengers also survived, getting out of the car just before it drove onto the ferry.