Senior run over by bus while crossing road dies
Taipei, Aug. 19 (CNA) A man has died while crossing the road after he was run over by a bus that failed to give way on Saturday morning in New Taipei.
According to New Taipei authorities, a call was received at 9:42 a.m. regarding a man who had sustained a severe head wound after being hit by and trapped under a Taipei Bus operated bus in the city’s Zhonghe District.
The 82-year-old man, surnamed Lin (林), showed no vital signs after he was pulled from under the bus around 10 a.m. by firefighters and he was pronounced dead at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, authorities said.
According to the Zhonghe Precinct of the New Taipei Police Department, a preliminary investigation found the bus had failed to give way as it should have done, and had turned left and hit Lin while he was crossing Shoude Street.
The bus driver, surnamed Chiu (邱), claimed she did not see Lin crossing the road due to a vehicle blind spot.
Police added that she had been given a sobriety test, and the results indicated that she had not been drinking.
Police said Chiu will be questioned by prosecutors on suspicion of committing manslaughter, adding that they will refer to surveillance video and the bus dash cam during their investigation.
New Taipei City Transportation Department official Lin Shih-chin (林詩欽) told CNA the bus company would be fined NT$90,000 (US$2,820) under the Highway Act for not ensuring their drivers follow the crosswalk yielding rule.
In addition, Taipei Bus Co. General Manager Lee Chien-wen (李建文) said he extended his sincere apologies and that the company would take full responsibility.
He added that the company will provide more training for its drivers to ensure they yield to pedestrians.
The incident comes just one day before the “Stop Killing Pedestrians” rally is set to take place in Taipei.
Civic group Zero Pedestrian Death Promotion Alliance is holding the rally to draw attention to the fact that 3,085 people died in traffic accidents last year in Taiwan.
According to Ministry of Transportation and Communications data, 394 of those deaths were in pedestrians crossing the road.
Another 16,757 pedestrians were also injured in that time period.
