A fatal car crash occurred on Avenida da Amizade in Zape early yesterday morning when an overloaded car with six passengers crashed into the roadside barrier, killing the driver and three passengers, while the other three passengers were critically injured, with all seven being local residents, aged between 19 and 21, the police announced.
The Public Security Police (PSP) announced details of the deadly accident in several follow-up statements yesterday.
According to the PSP statements, the deceased driver was a 20-year-old woman, while the three deceased passengers were a 19-year-old man and two 20-year-old men.
The three critically injured passengers comprise two males and one female.
According to the statements, the accident occurred at 6 a.m. when the car was travelling on Avenida da Amizade in the direction of the north of the peninsula. The car crashed into the roadside barrier when travelling past the reservoir, near the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal and the Macau Grand Prix Building.
The car knocked down a section of the barrier and a road sign there.
According to a statement by the Fire Services Bureau (CB), five of the seven were rushed to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, while the other two were rushed to the private Kiang Wu Hospital.
According to the PSP statements, the driver and two male passengers were pronounced dead shortly after emergency treatment to save their lives had failed. The police announced last night that one more male passenger died after emergency treatment to save his life had failed, raising the number of fatalities to four.
As of last night, the three critically injured passengers were still receiving emergency treatment.
The police said that the five-seater car was overloaded as it had six passengers.
The police also said that the driver had a valid driving licence.
As of last night, the police had still not announced whether the case involved drunk driving and whether the car was speeding.
After scrutinising the citywide CCTV camera system, according to the PSP statements, the police confirmed that the car began its journey from a street parking space on Rua de Bruxelas in Nape, entering Avenida da Amizade in Zape from Avenida Dr. Sun Yat-Sen in Nape via the flyover outside the Fisherman’s Wharf entertainment complex, before crashing into the roadside barrier outside the reservoir.
The location of yesterday’s crash is reportedly a traffic accident black spot where numerous vehicle crashes had previously occurred, as it is a gradual bend which some drivers tend to take it at an excessive speed. Avenida da Amizade, with a speed limit of 60 kilometres per hour, is one of the city’s long thoroughfares where drivers tend to be speeding.
Over the past decade, traffic accident fatalities in Macau were mostly motorcycle riders or pedestrians.
Firefighters and paramedics work on the vehicle after yesterday morning’s crash on Avenida da Amizade. – Photo: MPDG
