A man died yesterday morning after he was run over by a bus that did not give way when he was crossing a road in New Taipei City.
A call was received at 9:42am regarding a man who had sustained a severe head wound after being hit by and trapped under a bus operated by Taipei Bus Co in the city’s Jhonghe District (中和), New Taipei City authorities said.
The 82-year-old man, surnamed Lin (林), had no vital signs after firefighters pulled him from under the bus at about 10am, authorities said, adding that he was pronounced dead at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital.
A preliminary investigation found the bus had failed to give way as it should have, turning left and hitting Lin while he was crossing Shoude Street, the Jhonghe Police Precinct said.
The bus driver, surnamed Chiu (邱), said that she did not see Lin crossing the road as he was in her blind spot.
She was tested for alcohol and had not been drinking, police said.
Chiu would be questioned by prosecutors on suspicion of committing manslaughter, police said.
New Taipei City Transportation Department official Lin Shih-chin (林詩欽) said the bus company would be fined NT$90,000 under the Highway Act (公路法) for not ensuring its drivers yield to pedestrians on crosswalks.
Taipei Bus general manager Lee Chien-wen (李建文) apologized for the incident and said that the company would take full responsibility.
The incident occured just one day before the “Stop Killing Pedestrians” rally in Taipei today.
Civic group Vision Zero is holding the rally to draw attention to 3,085 deaths in traffic accidents in Taiwan last year.
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