An 11-year-old boy was killed and his 15-year-old sister injured after a collision with a Cintri rubbish truck in Sihanoukville yesterday, according to police, with an official at the trash collection company blaming the children for not wearing helmets.

Deputy provincial police chief Ty Sokha said that the girl, Pheak Sok Komarey, had been driving a Scoopy motorbike with her younger brother, Pheak Rattanakchhuoy, when metal protruding from the side of the truck struck the boy’s head and knocked him to the ground.

“This accident was caused by the garbage truck driver, who drove carelessly and veered into the motorbike lane,” said Sokha, adding that witnesses saw the girl swerve to try to avoid the truck, which was driving downhill, but could not avoid its path.

The truck’s driver escaped, the police chief added, and police are now searching for him.

Iv Khunsreng, head of Cintri in the province, acknowledged his driver had caused the accident but said it easily could have been avoided. “The boy died because his head hit against the truck, and if he wore a helmet, he would not have died,” he said.

The boy’s father, Sun Sopheak, said both his children had been wearing helmets at the time.

In a separate Cintri accident, Phnom Penh garbage truck driver Sorn Ran was questioned at court yesterday over the death of a 15-year-old in a crash on Monday, but no charges were laid, said Tin Vansy, of the municipal traffic police.