PHNOM PENH, Nov. 24 (FN) -- All five passengers in a taxi died after their speedy vehicle crashed into a cargo truck on Thursday afternoon in northwest Cambodia's Battambang province, according to a police report.

"Five people, including one male and four females, died in the accident," said the police report of Mong Russei district, where the fatal crash took place.

It added that the drivers of the two vehicles fled the scene soon after the accident.

Eye witnesses said the taxi was blamed for the crash since the driver perhaps felt drowsy and swerved to hit the truck coming from the opposite direction.

Road accidents are a leading cause of deaths in this Southeast Asian country, killing an average of six people per day. According to a government's report, road crashes claimed 1,425 lives and injured 5,353 others during the first ten months of 2016.

It is estimated that the country lost about 300 million U.S. dollars a year due to the accidents.