The driver of a tour bus that on March 16 crashed into an embankment on the Suhua Highway, killing six passengers and injuring 39, was on Friday sentenced to one year and six months in prison.
The Yilan District Court found Yu Chih-hao (游志豪) guilty of negligent homicide.
While Yu had claimed in his defense that the brakes on the bus failed, an investigation found that the three-year-old vehicle passed a routine inspection in January and that its brakes, gearbox and clutch were functioning normally at the time of the accident, the verdict said.
Yu acted negligently and did not fulfill his duties as a professional bus driver, as he did not pay full attention to the road, the court said.
The sentencing took into consideration that Yu later took responsibility for the crash and expressed remorse, it said.
Yu had reached out to victims and their families, it said.
The ruling can be appealed.
Yu was indicted on July 6 after prosecutors determined that driver error led to the crash.
SPEEDING
The bus was traveling at about 45kph, exceeding the speed limit of 40kph, on the downhill section where the crash occurred near the 114.7km mark of the highway connecting Yilan and Hualien counties, investigators said.
Yu tried to control the bus’ speed solely by engine braking, which did not slow the bus down enough ahead of the corner where the crash occurred, they said.
Yu attempted to shift to a lower gear to further reduce speed, but unwittingly shifted to neutral, allowing the bus to speed up to 54.3kph, investigators said.
Yu then tried to apply the emergency brake, but the bus was already out of control and subsequently crashed, they said.
An on-site investigation revealed a 45m skid mark caused by the bus, they said.
The bus had apparently veered into the opposite lane and there was damage on both sides of the bus, investigators said.
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