TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A 92-year-old man died in Hualien on Saturday (Nov. 11) after he was hit by a bus while using a pedestrian crossing, the same day as a woman was injured in New Taipei in a near identical accident.
Police said that the man surnamed Hsieh (謝) was likely in the bus driver’s blind spot when he was hit, though footage shows he was struck on a pedestrian crossing. Hsieh was knocked unconscious by the collision and died in the hospital after sustaining major head trauma and fractured ribs, per CNA.
Police said the bus driver was not intoxicated and had the correct license to be driving the vehicle.
Meanwhile, a 72-year-old woman was also hit on a pedestrian crossing in New Taipei’s Zhonghe District on Saturday. Police said the bus did not stop at the pedestrian crossing and hit the woman.
The woman was sent to the hospital for treatment with bruises on her arms and head. Police said her injuries were not life-threatening.
About 268,000 people have been injured in road accidents in Taiwan so far this year, and 1,991 have died. About 45% of those who died were elderly.