Several people have called the police about donating money to a young driver who crashed into four Ferraris over the weekend, the New Taipei City Police Department’s Sindian Precinct said on Tuesday.
The calls were from people inquiring about ways to reach the driver, because they wanted to help financially, police said.
The 20-year-old, who was identified only by his surname Lin (林), was out on a delivery at about 5:40am on Sunday, when he nodded off and crashed into four parked Ferraris near Danlan Suspension Bridge in New Taipei City’s Shihding District (石碇).
Photo copied by Hsu Sheng-lun, Taipei Times
There were no reported injuries, police said.
Lin was given a Breathalyzer test, which found that his blood-alcohol level was zero.
As of press time last night, the Ferrari owners could not be reached for comment.
Technicians at the Ferrari dealership in Taipei said the combined value of the four Italian supercars is more than NT$60 million (US$1.95 million) and it would cost an estimated NT$10 million to repair them.
The incident has sparked a media frenzy, due to the size of the repair bills and because Lin comes from a single-parent family and had to drop out of college to help his mother, who runs a small joss paper store in New Taipei City’s Shenkeng District (深坑).
Lin’s mother said that her son works at a barbecue restaurant during the day and helps deliver joss paper in his spare time after work.
After the accident, Lin apologized to the Ferrari owners, saying that he would do everything he can to pay for the repairs.
The precinct said it would pass on the contact details of those who called about making donations.
The New Taipei City Social Welfare Department said that a special account has also been created for individuals who wish to make donations to help Lin.
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
DIPLOMACY: It is Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo’s first visit to Taiwan since he took office last year, while Eswatini’s foreign minister is also paying a visit A delegation led by Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo arrived in Taiwan yesterday afternoon and is to visit President William Lai (賴清德) today. The delegation arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 4:55pm, and was greeted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). It is Arevalo’s first trip to Taiwan since he took office last year, and following the visit, he is to travel to Japan to celebrate the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Arevalo said at the airport that he is very glad to make the visit to Taiwan, adding that he brings an important message of responsibility