Seven passengers died and two were injured in a car accident on Provincial Highway No. 3 in Neimen (內門), Kaohsiung County, yesterday after a small van was involved in a head-on collision with a gravel truck.
The Kaohsiung County Police Station identified the dead as Lee Song-chiu (李松秋), Lee Tien-ching (李添進), Wu Chiu-lan (吳秋蘭), Chu Yueh-hsia (朱月霞), Lin Yueh-ru (林月汝), Fu Luan-ying (傅鑾英) and Kuo Ying-hsiao (郭銀笑). All the victims were from Changjhih Township (長治) in Pingtung County.
The driver Hong Ming-shuen (洪明選) and Wu Li-hua (吳麗華) survived the accident, but were in serious condition after being transferred to hospital.
PHOTO: CNA
Results of a preliminary investigation showed that the accident occurred as the passengers were returning to Pingtung after traveling to Tainan to worship at temples. The van carrying the passengers ran into the truck as it was traveling down a slope in Neimen. Four of the dead passengers and Hong were thrown from the van. Wu Li-hua was trapped in the passenger seat and was the last to be pulled from the wreckage of the van.
When fire department officials arrived at the scene they found the van on the wrong side of the road. The personal belongings of the passengers were scattered all over the road.
The truck driver, surnamed Hou (侯), was not injured. The right side of his truck was damaged.
Hou said by the time he realized he was about to collide with the van, which had crossed over the double yelllow lines in the middle of the highway, he did not have enough time to turn his vehicle or slam on the brakes.
A breathalyzer test conducted at the scene by police showed that Hou was not intoxicated.
The Kaohsiung Prosecutors’ Office yesterday launched an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.
In related news, traffic was smooth on most of the nation’s roads yesterday on the last day of the New Year holiday.
The Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau attributed the lack of snarl-ups to the fact that many people had decided to return home early, which helped ease last-minute congestion.
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