A comprehensive investigation report into the fatal road accident on the Hainan Middle Expressway in Tunchang County has been officially released, shedding light on a chain of events that resulted in five fatalities.

The Hainan Provincial Emergency Management Department disclosed the findings on September 15th, detailing the "4·26" major road traffic accident that occurred on April 26th, 2026. At approximately 4:32 AM, a serious collision took place between a small passenger van and a heavy curtain-sided truck at the 59-kilometer mark of the G9811 Hainan Middle Expressway within Tunchang County's jurisdiction. The impact of the crash tragically claimed the lives of five individuals.

In the aftermath, a specialized investigation team was established by the Hainan Provincial Government on May 9th, 2026. Led by the Provincial Emergency Management Department, the team included representatives from various provincial and local government bodies, with the Provincial People's Procuratorate also participating in the inquiry process.

The official investigation concluded that this was a production safety responsibility accident triggered by a combination of severe truck overloading, distracted driving, failure to set up warning signs after an initial incident, illegal passenger transport operations, and critical oversight failures across multiple safety supervision links.

The reconstruction of events revealed a complex sequence of collisions. At approximately 4:24 AM, the driver of a heavy box truck, traveling north to south, rear-ended a slow-moving sedan due to distracted driving. The impact, compounded by the truck's overloaded condition and improper handling, caused it to overturn, collapse the central barrier, and intrude into the opposite carriageway, blocking part of the emergency and slow lanes.

Immediately following this, a southbound heavy curtain-sided truck collided with the overturned vehicle. This second truck sustained damage and came to a stop roughly one hundred meters north of the initial crash site, straddling the lane dividers and obstructing traffic flow.

At 4:32 AM, a small passenger van traveling northbound collided with the rear of the stationary heavy truck. The force of this impact proved fatal for all five occupants of the van, who were pronounced dead at the scene.

The inquiry pinpointed distracted driving as a primary direct cause. The van driver, operating a vehicle with substandard mechanical conditions, failed to maintain proper observation of the road ahead and did not take timely evasive action to avoid the danger.

Furthermore, the driver of the first heavy truck also exhibited operational failures, including being distracted and overloading his vehicle. After the initial collisions, neither truck driver took the legally required steps to set up adequate warning signals or expand the warning distance to alert oncoming traffic, a significant contributing factor to the final deadly crash.

Adding to these direct causes was the fact that the van driver lacked the legally required certificate for road transport practitioners and had been operating an unlicensed passenger vehicle on a commercial basis for an extended period. The freight company registered to the overturned truck also failed to uphold its responsibility for managing vehicles under its name, allowing the vehicle to operate with expired qualifications and excessive loads.

The investigation also found that the local transportation and law enforcement departments had significant regulatory loopholes. Their failure to effectively monitor and enforce rules regarding illegal passenger operations, freight transport, road enforcement, and source-based overload control created the underlying conditions that primed this tragedy to occur.

Legal accountability has now been determined, with charges recommended against the involved parties. The drivers of both the black sedan and the heavy truck were found to bear primary responsibility for the accident and are suspected of committing the crime of causing a traffic accident. As the sedan driver died in the crash, he cannot be prosecuted. However, it is recommended that the truck driver be transferred to public security authorities for criminal proceedings.

Additionally, four officials from the Wuzhishan Municipal Natural Resources, Urban and Rural Planning and Construction Bureau, and the Wuzhishan Municipal Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau, have been referred to discipline inspection and supervision agencies for handling.

The investigation team has also recommended that the Wuzhishan Municipal Committee and Municipal Government, as well as the Provincial Department of Transport, submit written self-examinations to the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government regarding the deficiencies exposed by this serious incident.