Man sleepwalks to his death

A young man was found dead on the side of road 1A by a local in Hai Lang (Quang Tri) at around 11.30pm on February 25.

It has been reported that the cause of the young man’s death may have been the result of sleepwalking. The body was identified as Le Van Khiem, from Thieu Tam commune in Thanh Hoa province. He was a student at Ho Chi Minh City Industry and Trade College.

Tran Van Minh, a friend of the victim, said on the morning of the incident, he and Khiem took a bus from Thanh Hoa to Ho Chi Minh city so that they could be back in time for classes after their Tet holiday. On the night of the incident, when the bus reached Hai Lang town, passengers were already asleep. Minh suddenly woke up and realised in a panic that his friend had disappeared from the bus. Minh requested for the bus to stop and turn back to find his friend. After about three kilometres, they found Khiem’s dead body, covered in blood, on the side of the road.

Khiem’s family said that he had a long history with a sleepwalking disorder. He sometimes woke up in the middle of the night and wandered around subconsciously. Perhaps while everyone was sleeping, Khiem woke up, opened the door and stepped out of the bus while it was still running, thus causing his own death.

On the morning of February 26, the young man’s body, with help from the local authorities, was taken to his home where his funeral will be held.