A school bus driver steered a bus carrying 38 students to safety while dying of a reported heart attack yesterday.
Lee Chih-ming (李志明), 60, was driving a school bus full of students from Shu-te Home Economics and Commercial High School through the intersection of Jhengjhong Road and Jianwu Road in Greater Kaohsiung’s Sanmin District (三民) when the bus began to swerve to the right after he is said to have suffered an acute myocardial infarction.
The bus then sideswiped a minivan belonging to a local resident, surnamed Ho (何), parked at 165 Jianwu Rd and seven more parked motorcycles before coming to a stop in front of a residence at 93 Jianwu Rd. Luckily, there were no moving vehicles or pedestrians on the stretch of road at the time.
No other injuries or deaths were reported, while Lee, who reportedly died after ensuring the safety of the students, was the only fatality.
Ho said when he saw his car he thought it was the result of a hit-and-run accident and so hopped on his motorcycle to chase Lee down, only to find Lee slowly bringing the bus to a stop, carefully avoiding any heavily traveled roads before he stopped in front of a private residence with no one present.
“No other casualties or injuries were caused. That was very responsible of him [Lee],” Ho said.
The owner of a nearby oyster noodle stand, surnamed Lin (林), said he attempted to wake Lee up by slapping him in the face through the car window, but Lee was unconscious, though still breathing.
One of the students said his and his schoolmates were clueless as to what was happening to the driver when the bus started swerving right and hitting parked vehicles.
“We only knew that the bus was traveling at an extremely slow speed, and kept bumping into automobiles on the side of the road. Everyone was confused because we were all sitting on the upper deck,” the student said, adding that they followed instructions to pry open an emergency door.
School authorities said Lee had served as a bus driver for the school for approximately a year, and that all 38 students had returned to classes after they were cleared of emotional shock.
Hsieh Min-cheng (謝旻成), a student who sat in the back of the bus during the accident, expressed gratitude to Lee.
“I am truly grateful to the driver, who, despite being at the last moment of his life, fought to keep us safe,” Hsieh said. “He was a courageous man.”
Kaohsiung City Government’s Fire Bureau Dachang Branch said Lee, who did not show any vital signs at the time, was rushed to a hospital after firefighters removed him from the bus through an emergency door.
Lee was pronounced dead after emergency treatment failed to resuscitate him, the branch said.
According to Lee’s wife, her husband did not have a history of cardiac problems and only recently complained about stomach irritation.
The Kaohsiung City Motor Vehicles Office dispatched officials to ascertain the cause of the accident and determine liability.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS