A teenager involved in a scooter accident on May 17 offered a public apology on Monday to Honduran Ambassador Rafael Fernando Sierra Quesada for falsely accusing him of being at fault in the incident.
The mother of the teen, who is underage and was driving without a license, also issued a statement of apology to Sierra.
Sierra was pictured with the teenager and his mother after accepting their apology.
He said he would not claim compensation for damage caused to his vehicle.
The news of the accident surfaced after the 15-year-old’s mother, who lives in New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), posted on May 18 on Facebook that her son was hurt after he was hit by a car bearing a license plate reserved for ambassadorial vehicles.
The Facebook post also showed a photograph of Sierra’s business card and claimed that Sierra threw his business card at her son before driving away from the scene of the accident.
Sierra denied allegations at a news conference the following day that he had been involved in a hit-and-run collision with the child.
Sierra, who took up his post in January, said it was not a hit-and-run accident.
Sierra said he remained at the scene for about 40 minutes with the teenager until his father arrived.
“I did not want him to think that I was going to run away,” Sierra said.
Sierra said he did not call the police immediately after the accident because he was trying to help the rider, who he said rode into his car.
Footage from a dashcam on the car, which was being driven by Sierra, showed the scooter appearing suddenly from behind another vehicle, making a left turn and running into the ambassador’s car at an intersection with a green light showing for Sierra.
The ambassador said he gave his card to the teenager so that the family could contact him.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost