TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A speeding motorist who struck and killed a female scooter rider in August last year was sentenced to three years and 10 months in jail by a district court on Wednesday (April 6).
Driving a yellow Mustang, the 24-year-old man, surnamed Yeh (葉), ignored a red light and crashed into the scooter at an intersection in Miaoli County's Zhunan Township on Aug. 14. The impact sent the 21-year-old woman, surnamed Wu (巫), flying. Seriously injured, she fell into a coma and died on Aug. 27.
(YouTube, sam62345 video)
Just a few days previously, in Tainan, Yeh had driven down a street the wrong way. For this offense, Miaoli District Court on Wednesday sentenced Yeh to 10 months for endangering the safety of public traffic, CNA reported.
As for the fatal accident he caused in Miaoli County, the court sentenced Yeh to three years and 10 months in prison for negligently causing the death of another.
According to the sentencing document, Yeh was driving at a speed over 100 kph on a road with a speed limit of 60 kph. Yeh admitted causing the accident, which was a mitigating factor in the sentence handed down to him.
Yeh’s parents had claimed their son had mental health problems but the sentencing document said he was able to have reasonable conversations with the investigators. The court therefore rejected mental problems as a mitigating factor.
The document also pointed out the defendant had not reached a settlement with the family of the victim. The sentences can be appealed.
