Konginkangas truck-driver to face charges of causing 23 deaths

Finland's worst-ever road accident involved a bus and a truck carrying rolls of paper

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The driver of the truck-trailer combination involved in the fatal collision with a bus last year, in which 23 people died, is to face numerous charges. State Prosecutor Mika Illman has raised involuntary manslaughter charges against the driver for the victims of what was Finland's worst-ever road traffic accident.
      In addition, the driver of the truck will be charged with dangerous driving and four counts of causing grievous bodily harm.
      The charges will be heard in due course at the Äänekoski District Court.
     
According to the findings of the commission of inquiry set up after the disaster, there were a number of contributory factors leading to the accident, one of which was excessive speed. Since the accident, there has been considerable discussion of tighter restrictions on speeds for heavy good vehicles.
      Officially they are limited to 80km/hour, but in practice nearly all trucks drive where possible at speeds up to the point where the engine limiter cuts in, or nearly 10km/hour over the stated maximum.
     
The head-on collision between the truck and the long-distance bus occurred under icy road conditions in the early hours of the morning on March 18th, 2004. Many of the dead were young people from the Helsinki area on their way to a skiing vacation in Southern Lapland.
      The carnage was worsened by the load of rolls of newsprint on the jack-knifing truck & trailer, which broke loose on impact and smashed through the interior of the bus with lethal force.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Excessive speed and driver error seen as causes of collision killing 23 last year (18.11.2005)
  Bus crash: 20 of the 23 victims from the Greater Helsinki area (22.3.2004)

Helsingin Sanomat