A bus driver was on Thursday charged with negligent homicide, after he allegedly plowed into a family crossing a street in the Taichung’s North District (北區) in December last year, killing the 31-year-old mother and her one-year-old son.
The 53-year-old driver, surnamed Chen (陳), failed to give way to the family, prosecutors said, adding that they had asked the court to hand down a heavy sentence to driver.
The Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office said that the incident occurred when the woman, her husband and child legally crossed Yingcai Road at its intersection with Xueshi Road at about 11:15pm on Dec. 27.
Photo: CNA
As they were crossing, Chen, driving a No. 280 city bus, made a left turn on a green light on Yingcai Road, apparently failing to see the two adults and their child in a stroller.
The three were immediately taken to China Medical University Hospital, where the mother, surnamed Lee (李), and her child were pronounced dead. The father, an Iraqi national, was treated for minor injuries.
The father, surnamed Chi (季), told reporters that they had almost reached the other side of the road when the bus, driving at high speed, made a left and ran them over.
His account was confirmed by witnesses, who said the family had been legally crossing the crosswalk, but appeared to have been in the driver’s “blind spot,” as he made no attempt to slow the bus before hitting them.
Shortly after the incident, Chen told police that he had not seen the family due to poor lighting at the site.
He only realized that something had happened after feeling a “bump” at the back of the bus, police cited him as saying.
Based on video footage from the bus’ dashcam and nearby surveillance cameras, prosecutors determined that Chen’s vision was not impeded, calling his statement an invalid excuse.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
An inauguration ceremony was held yesterday for the Danjiang Bridge, the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, ahead of its official opening to traffic on Tuesday, marking a major milestone after nearly three decades of planning and construction. At the ceremony in New Taipei City attended by President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the bridge was hailed as both an engineering landmark and a long-awaited regional transport link connecting Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里)
RSS