A court in Hanoi has handed down a 20-year prison sentence to a truck driver found guilty of murdering a teenage girl in a fatal accident that shocked Vietnam last year. The Hanoi People's Court delivered its verdict on Tuesday, June 30, against Dinh Van Long, 52, from Phu Tho province, who was driving a concrete mixer when the incident occurred on September 13, 2025. The victim, Nguyen Dao Ha A., born in 2010, was riding an electric motorbike and died from catastrophic injuries sustained during the collision and subsequent dragging beneath the vehicle.
Long had worked as a driver for a local construction materials company for just eight months when the incident took place. He was operating a concrete mixer truck carrying approximately 14 tonnes of ready-mix concrete towards National Highway 1A when the tragedy unfolded near the Van Diem underpass in Phu Xuyen Commune. Court documents reveal that another truck was travelling in the same direction on Long's left side, while the teenage victim attempted to overtake from the right. Unable to navigate the congested traffic conditions, the girl lost control of her electric motorbike and fell directly into the path of Long's vehicle.
The initial impact was severe. The front right wheel of the concrete mixer ran over the girl's abdomen, causing immediate and severe trauma. Long reported hearing a loud sound and feeling the steering wheel shake from the collision. He applied the brakes and the truck stopped several metres later. This is where Long's actions took a critical and deliberate turn. After checking his mirrors and unable to locate the victim, he made a conscious decision to continue driving rather than exit the vehicle to investigate or seek assistance.
Prosecutors presented evidence that Long made a calculated decision driven by financial self-interest. According to the indictment, Long told investigators that he feared the girl might survive the initial accident, which would result in substantial compensation claims against him. However, he reasoned that if the girl died, he would face only criminal responsibility, apparently viewing this as a preferable outcome. This cold calculus allegedly motivated him to drive forward deliberately, despite feeling unusual resistance from the vehicle and sensing that the tyres were grinding against an object beneath the truck. Long continued driving for another 10 metres before stopping, dragging the trapped victim along the road surface during this distance.
The nightmare ended only when nearby bystanders witnessed the incident and rushed toward the vehicle, shouting warnings and pointing beneath the truck to alert the driver. At that moment, Long finally halted the concrete mixer. When bystanders and emergency responders freed the girl from beneath the vehicle, she was still breathing but had sustained catastrophic abdominal injuries. She was rushed to Bach Mai Hospital, one of Vietnam's leading medical institutions, but succumbed to her injuries during transport. Long subsequently fled the scene and did not report himself to authorities until later that evening, further demonstrating a consciousness of guilt.
During the investigation phase, some financial restitution was made to the victim's family. Long's daughter voluntarily paid VNĐ80 million (approximately US$3,000), while his employer contributed an additional VNĐ100 million (US$3,800). However, these payments could not diminish the severity of the crime or the irreplaceable loss suffered by the family. The victim's family pursued the case vigorously, demanding harsh punishment befitting the circumstances and seeking additional compensation to cover emergency treatment costs, funeral expenses, and damages for emotional suffering and loss of life.
The trial panel's judgment was unsparing in its condemnation of Long's conduct. Judges described his actions as "particularly dangerous" and found overwhelming evidence of intentional behaviour following the initial accident. Rather than treating the collision as a tragic mishap, the court concluded that Long deliberately continued driving over the victim out of financial self-preservation. This finding transformed the case from potential negligence to premeditated murder, as the judges identified direct criminal intent and a "violent nature" underlying his decisions. The case generated significant public outrage in Hanoi and across Vietnam, with many viewing it as emblematic of callous disregard for human life driven by selfish economic calculation.
Beyond the 20-year prison sentence, the court imposed additional financial penalties. Long was ordered to pay VNĐ182 million in further compensation to the victim's family, bringing the total court-ordered restitution to VNĐ362 million. The severity of the sentence reflects Vietnamese jurisprudence's recognition that deliberate acts causing death, particularly when motivated by financial self-interest rather than panic or confusion, warrant the harshest penalties available.
The case carries broader implications for road safety discourse in Southeast Asia's rapidly motorising societies. Traffic incidents involving heavy vehicles and vulnerable road users remain a persistent problem across the region, with motorcyclists and cyclists facing disproportionate risk. What distinguished this case was the element of deliberate escalation following an accident, raising questions about driver training, accountability, and the intersection between accident law and intentional crime. The verdict demonstrates that courts are willing to treat post-collision decisions as separate criminal acts deserving of maximum punishment, particularly when evidence suggests conscious choice rather than panic or confusion.
