A Taichung City bus driver was indicted Thursday for negligent homicide after he plowed into a family legally crossing a crosswalk in the city’s North District last December, killing a 31-year-old woman and her 1-year-old son.
As his failure to give way resulted in two deaths, prosecutors asked that the court hand a heavy sentence to the 53-year-old driver, identified by his last name Chen (?).
According to Taichung District Prosecutors Office, the accident occurred as the woman, her husband, and child were legally crossing Yingcai Rd. at the intersection with Xueshi Rd. at around 11:15 p.m. on Dec. 27 last year.
As they were crossing, a No. 280 city bus made a left turn on a green light into Yingcai Rd. apparently failing to see the two adults and their child in a stroller.
After the accident the three were immediately taken to China Medical University Hospital, where the mother, surnamed Lee (?), and her child were pronounced dead. The father, an Iraqi national, was treated for minor injuries.
The father, identified by the Chinese surname Chi (?), told media after the crash that they had been walking across the crosswalk and had almost reached the other side of the road when the bus, moving at high speed, made a left turn into them.
His account was confirmed by witnesses, who said the family had been legally crossing the crosswalk but appeared to have been in the driver’s “blind spot,” as he made no attempt to slow down before the accident.
During police questioning, Chen said at the time he had not seen the family due to the poor lighting in the area, and only realized something had happened after feeling a “bump” at the back end of the bus.
Based on video footage taken from the bus dashcam and nearby surveillance cameras, prosecutors investigating the case later determined that Chen’s vision could not have been hampered by lighting nor the weather and that as such his excuse was invalid.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel