HONG KONG: An acting police sergeant was gravely injured yesterday morning when a heavy truck ploughed into the rear of his motorcycle in Kwun Tong.

The 32-year-old traffic police officer, who is surnamed Ling, was patrolling the Kwun Tong Bypass at around 10:25 am, with his emergency light flashing as he decelerated at the slip-road of Wang Chiu Road. The dump truck, which had been following the motorcycle at a distance of about 400 meters, struck the police vehicle from behind.

"The preliminary investigation showed that the heavy goods vehicle failed to brake immediately and collided with the motorbike and the acting sergeant," said Ho Chak-kan, chief inspector of Investigation & Support Division of Traffic, Kowloon East.

Ling also serves under the Kowloon East traffic division.

Ho added that the police officer suffered multiple injuries and lay trapped underneath the truck after the mishap. Police describe the officer's condition as serious, though he was conscious when emergency services arrived.

He was transported to Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Media quoted colleagues of the injured man as saying his legs had been crushed in the collision.

The Kwun Tong Bypass was closed for about three hours to permit staff from the government laboratory to collect forensic evidence.

They measured the truck's skid marks, in order to estimate the speed of the truck just prior to the collision. The driver of the truck assisted police in the investigation.

Police are still investigating whether speed was a factor in the accident. The driver was given a breath test, which revealed no sign of impairment due to alcohol.

As of June 30, 35 traffic policemen were injured while performing duties this year. Some 107 cases were recorded last year.

Two traffic police officers were killed in the past two years.

Among them was station sergeant Chan Ka-wai who died in a traffic collision in Ho Man Tin as he answered a call to attend another fatal crash this March. Chan's motorbike crashed into a green minibus at the intersection of Argyle Street and Waterloo Road.

Another tragedy happened August 9, 2008, when traffic police constable So Chi-ho escorted a VIP from the equestrian events at Beas River Olympic equestrian site. Investigations suggested he may have struck obstacles on the road.

(HK Edition 08/13/2009 page1)