A deadly car crash reportedly caused by a flat tire that sent a sports utility vehicle (SUV) off a 10-story-high overpass claimed the lives of six people, with the sole survivor, a 32-year-old woman named Chan Meng-chen (詹孟蓁), receiving treatment for a fractured pelvic bone, Miaoli County’s Houlong Township (後龍) fire department said yesterday.
According to the fire department’s preliminary reports, calls at about noon said there was a car accident at the 130.8km marker on the southbound lanes of the Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3) near the Houlong junction.
The Houlong precinct was notified of the incident and dispatched personnel, who found a silver SUV and seven people.
Photo: Cheng Hung-ta, Taipei Times
The department said that when rescue personnel arrived, only the driver and the front passenger were still in the vehicle, while the other passengers had been ejected from the car.
Paramedics also found two people on the freeway and three under the elevated section’s supports, the department said, adding that none of the six fatalities exhibited any vital signs by the time they arrived at a hospital.
Chan said the group was comprised of college classmates heading south from Taipei to attend another classmate’s wedding, adding that she was asleep at the time of the accident.
A tire might have blown out as the vehicle was crossing the Houlong section, Chan said, adding that she had been thrown out of the car at that point and then lost consciousness.
A police inspection of the crash site found exposed steel on the rear left tire, leading investigators to suspect that the tire might have blown out, causing the vehicle to flip over. However, they added that further investigation is required.
A farmer surnamed Yu (余), who witnessed the incident, said he had been “scared witless,” adding that when he saw two “things” drop from the highway, he at first thought someone had tossed trash out of a car window.
“I realized that there was something wrong when a car also dropped” less than three seconds later, Yu said.
Yu said he tried to call the police, but was unable to due to bad reception, adding that he had stayed on scene to help direct paramedics to where he saw people drop.
Additional reporting by CNA
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