The Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday cleared three police officers of negligence in a case resulting from a traffic accident that led to a firefighter called to the scene losing a leg.
The firefighter’s left leg had to be amputated after allegedly being hit by a drunk driver while assisting victims of a traffic accident in October last year. The driver will be charged with offenses against public safety and causing bodily harm with negligence, while the three officers who handled the accident were cleared of wrongdoing.
At daybreak on Oct. 1, 27-year-old Lai Wen-li (賴文莉), a firefighter in a paramedic team from the New Taipei City (新北市) Fire Department, was dispatched to an accident under the Chunghsin Bridge in Sanchong District (三重), New Taipei City.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
Soon after she arrived at the scene, she was hit by Chen Hsi-fa (陳熙發), who was allegedly drunk at the wheel.
Lai’s left leg was amputated at the knee because of the severity of her injuries.
However, Lai felt the three police officers in charge of the accident scene were indirectly responsible for the second accident and her resultant injuries, and claimed they failed to adopt proper traffic control measures.
Lai filed charges against officers Niu Chi-cheng (牛繼正), Lu Shun-hsing (呂順興) and Chuang Sheng-hsuan (莊勝烜) for causing bodily harm and professional negligence.
In the course of their investigation, prosecutors learned from the wireless communication system of the Fire Department Command Center that before Lai was hit, two injured victims from the initial accident had been sent to hospital for medical assistance, whereupon the three police officers felt they had completed their work and departed, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Lai remained at the scene and insisted that a bystander, surnamed Ho (何), who was not hurt in the accident, be brought to the police station to serve as a witness.
Although questions could be raised regarding the professional ethics of the three police officers who decided to leave the scene, their action was legal, prosecutors said, adding that the law also stipulated that firefighters are responsible for traffic safety.
The prosecutors’ office therefore ruled that the three officers should not be charged.
Commenting on the verdict, Lai said she respected the judicial investigation and would not appeal. She said the only reason she filed charges against the officers was to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.
On the issue of state compensation, Lai said a decision would be made after she consulted with her lawyer.
Translated by Stacy Hsu, Staff Writer
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