TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A woman surnamed Chen (陳), accused of drunk driving, has posted a NT$200,000 (US$6,600) bail after causing the major National Freeway 1 accident that killed two and injured nine.
Liberty Times reported that Chen, 46, faces charges for endangering public safety and negligent homicide. While driving through Miaoli County at 4:40 a.m., she lost control of her car and hit the slow lane railing, stopping perpendicular to the direction of the traffic and causing five other vehicles, including a highway bus, to crash.
The pileup resulted in a fire that killed a 52-year-old woman surnamed Hsu (許) and the highway bus’ driver, a 48-year-old man surnamed Yang (楊). Additionally, the nine injured individuals included a woman who was two months pregnant who suffered a broken pelvis, according to ETToday.
Chen initially claimed that she lost control of her car due to a lapse in concentration while driving, but a breathalyzer test revealed that a liter of her breath contained 0.34 milligram of ethanol. She eventually admitted that she had consumed alcohol during her family’s Lunar New Year’s Eve dinner in Taichung, which did not end until 11 p.m. the evening before.
She added that she got on the road after resting because she had work in the morning in Taoyuan. UDN reported that while she was not injured in the accident, her 16-year-old son, who was in the car with her, hurt his foot.
A driver surnamed Tsai (蔡), who was a friend of Hsu’s and had been traveling with her on a hiking trip, was cited as saying he was able to escape through a hole in his car’s window after being hit by the bus. However, Hsu was stuck in the passenger seat and he was unable to save her.
He added that the Yang had also been trapped in the driver’s seat of the bus.
Yang’s 21 passengers had reportedly been asleep as they headed for the Taoyuan International Airport. They were able to escape after the accident by breaking the emergency exit door with a fire extinguisher.
