Three people (not eight) died in crash: Doctor

THREE people and not eight died in last Friday’s road accident in Lae, Angau Memorial Hospital director of medical services Dr Ruso Perone said yesterday.
He told The National that 20 victims of the accident were admitted at the hospital’s accidents and emergency department following the accident.
He said one of the victims died at the scene of the crash and two others died at the hospital while undergoing treatment.
“I’ve already confirmed that there were three deaths,” Perone said.
This newspaper reported eight deaths in the accident in yesterday’s edition. It was an account of a witness, Adolf Amuki.
Perone said the two who died later were transferred from a private hospital in the city.
He said that of the 17 still recovering at the hospital, three women and a man suffered multiple fractures and were being treated at the acute wards.
The accident happened between 5pm and 6pm when a truck belonging to construction company Hornibrook Limited and a 25-seater PMV bus collided at 7-Mile along the Highlands Highway.
Morobe provincial police commander Supt Augustine Wampe described the accident as tragic and very unfortunate.
“It all comes down back to responsible driving and valuing the lives of the passengers you are carrying,” he said.
Wampe said the accident was being investigated by the Lae metropolitan command traffic police.