Four people were killed and nine injured yesterday morning when a cement mixer truck plowed into 22 vehicles on a downhill section of a road to Yangmingshan (陽明山) in suburban Taipei.
An initial investigation indicated that the truck’s brakes failed and it picked up speed descending Yangde Boulevard Sec 3, colliding with 13 cars and nine motorcycles and causing damage to four houses, police said.
The truck’s driver, Ruan Ying-kuei (阮英貴), 44, was among the three men and one woman killed in the accident, Taipei Fire Department officials said.
Photo: Lu Chun-wei, Taipei Times
Nine fire engines and 12 ambulances were sent to the accident, and the nine injured people were taken to city hospitals.
Surveillance camera footage shows the speeding truck crossing an intersection and traveling south on Yangde Boulevard at about 8:10am and crashing into the vehicles one after another — with some cars lifted meters off the ground — and smashing into parked motorcycles and buildings.
A man surnamed Chiang (江), reportedly the assistant driver of the truck, said he did not know what happened, as he was sleeping when the accident occurred.
Photo: Lu Chun-wei, Taipei Times
Police were questioning Chiang, as video showed him opening the truck door and jumping out of the vehicle a few hundred meters before the truck plowed into oncoming vehicles.
The truck started its journey in New Taipei City’s Tamshui District (淡水) and was heading to a construction site in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林).
The truck was not carrying a load, Chiang said.
Photo: Lu Chun-wei, Taipei Times
A cement mixer truck when not carrying cargo still weighs about 15 tonnes, Shilin Police Precinct officials said, adding that because Yangde Boulevard has many corners drivers have to apply the brakes frequently.
The truck’s brakes might have overheated or its brake cooling ducts might have had a leak, which could lead to the brakes malfunctioning, police said.
Police officials said that the truck was in violation of traffic control regulations, because vehicles weighing more than 6.5 tonnes are prohibited from traveling on Yangde Boulevard on weekdays between 7am and 9am and from 5pm to 7pm, adding that the company that operated the truck might be held liable for the accident.
There have been many crashes on Yangde Boulevard, a major route to and from Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園.
Taipei City Government data showed 381 crashes leading to 11 deaths and 377 injures reported from 2014 to last year.
NON-NEGOTIABLE: The US president’s action ran counter to one of the US’ ‘six assurances’ on not consulting China about arms sales to Taiwan, US lawmakers said US President Donald Trump’s admission that he is discussing arms sales to Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is “alarming and a blatant violation of US policy and the six assurances,” US Representative Ro Khanna said on Tuesday. Trump on Monday said he would decide soon on whether to send more weapons to Taiwan, after Xi warned him not to do so. “I’m talking to him about it. We had a good conversation, and we’ll make a determination pretty soon,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked about warnings raised by Beijing during a phone call with Xi over
OPTIMISTIC: The DGBAS sharply upgraded its GDP growth estimate from 3.54 percent to 7.71 percent after the Taiwan-US trade agreement signing and given AI optimism The US imported more from Taiwan than China for the first time in decades, as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs reshape trade flows while a global boom in artificial intelligence (AI) fuels demand for tech products. US purchases of goods from China plunged almost 44 percent in December last year from 2024 to US$21.1 billion, US Department of Commerce data showed on Thursday. By contrast, shipments from Taiwan more than doubled during the same period to US$24.7 billion. The soaring Taiwanese shipments to the US reflect the huge expansion in supplies of chips and servers for AI companies, which has completely changed
VACILLATING? Some US officials are concerned that Trump’s April visit to Beijing might be affected if Washington pushes through additional weapons sales to Taiwan A major US arms sales package for Taiwan is in limbo following pressure from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and concerns among some US officials that greenlighting the deal would derail US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to Bejing, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Wednesday. Trump on Monday said that he would decide soon on whether to send more weapons to Taiwan, after Xi warned him not to do so. “I’m talking to him about it. We had a good conversation, and we’ll make a determination pretty soon,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked about warnings raised
US and Chinese fighter jets briefly faced off above waters near the Korean Peninsula this week, Yonhap News agency reported, marking a rare confrontation in that area between the two superpowers. About 10 US fighter jets on Wednesday departed an airbase in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, for drills above international waters off South Korea’s western coast, the news outlet cited unidentified military sources as saying. While the US planes did not enter China’s air defense identification zone, Beijing scrambled planes as they neared that region, the report said. “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army organized naval and air forces to monitor and effectively respond
RSS