Speeding, cause of highway accident

The local police investigating the massive school bus accident on the Kyungbu Highway have concluded tentatively that the accident was caused by failure to observe the safe distance between vehicles and speeding on the slippery road.

All of the eight bus drivers, including 42-year-old driver Kim of Daeryunk Tours, will be probed for negligent driving and booked on charges of violating the Road Traffic Law.

The police have sent the fuel tank of the Portentia passenger car for testing to the National Institute of Scientific Investigation (NISI), according to statements from witnesses who heard explosions from the car, which then lit up in flames. The police are also examining seven other automobiles that caught fire to see if they were remodeled illegally.

Following the suspicions of students that the drivers were drunk, blood samples of the drivers were sent to the NISI for testing. The results are expected to come out on Tuesday. The NISI will also conduct DNA testing on two severely damaged bodies from a passenger car in order to verify their identities.