Victim Ms Cheung, 18, (top right) was thrown from the truck as it overturned and died at the scene

An 18-year-old woman died in a truck crash yesterday after being thrown from the cab as her 21-year-old boyfriend’s truck overturned.

According to reports, the young woman, Ms Cheung, had been accompanying truck driver Mr Man on deliveries.

As Man approached the Tsing Lun Road exit on Castle Peak Road – Lam Tei, he struck a central divider and smashed onto the slip road, smashing two road signs and overturning.

Cheung was thrown from the cab and reportedly crushed under the overturned truck. Fire crews rescued her from under the truck but she died at the scene.

Police arrested driver Man, who sustained only minor injuries in the crash.

The young age of the truck driver has raised questions about the government’s relaxation of truck driving experience laws in 2020.

At the time, the government claimed the trucking sector needed “new blood” against an ageing workforce. Drivers previously needed to wait three years after passing their basic driving test before they could get behind the wheel of a heavier vehicle. After the government changed the law, without LegCo debate, learners surviving their “probationary” period could get behind the wheel of a medium goods vehicle.

At the time, the government said the relaxation of the rules was unlikely [to] increase road safety risk”, with the Transport Department (TD) claiming new drivers were no less safe than those with more experience.

Figures compiled by Transit Jam at the time showed this not to be true. Transport Department, however, refused to answer further questions or explain its misleading statements.