Month: October 2017

Drunk Driver Pretends to be Passenger after Fatal Accident

driver pretending to be passenger after accident
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

The driver of a car that slammed into a scooter, killing the rider yesterday evening, got into the backseat and pretended to be a hapless passenger. When police arrived at the scene the man told them he didn’t know how he had gotten there or who had driven his car. At around 7:00pm, October 30, a 37 year-old man named Liao (廖) was driving along the coastal highway between Jinshan and Danshui Districts in New Taipei City when he hit

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Bus Crashes and Burns in New Taipei City

bus burned after crash
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A municipal bus crashed into a building in Xinzhuang District and caught fire early this morning after the driver lost consciousness at the wheel. Fortunately, the bus was not carrying passengers at the time. According to Liberty Times Network, at around 5:00am, the 41 year-old driver fainted while stopped at an intersection and his foot hit the accelerator. The bus traveled for around 40 meters before crashing into the building. After crashing, the driver’s foot appears to have remained stuck

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Witnesses Mistake Drunk Punk for Movie Stuntman

car ends up vertical after accident
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

The presence of a film crew at the scene of an accident early yesterday morning in Kaohsiung City led bystanders to believe they had just witnessed a spectacular movie stunt. Actually, they had just witnessed the lead singer of a nu metal band drunkenly smash through a crash barrier while attempting to avoid a pedestrian crossing the road. At around 5:00am, Sunday, October 29, a 24 year-old driver lost control of his vehicle and ended up vertically parked on a

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Family of Four Incinerated in Own Home: Fire Department Cautions

residential fire
Fire 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

The Taipei City Government Fire Department issued a press release this morning urging people to install smoke detectors in their homes, and escape gates in security bars after a family of four died in a blaze in the early hours of the morning today, October 29. At around 3:00am, a fire broke out on the third floor of a building on Yanping Road and quickly spread in the uninhabited apartment used for storage. The Lai family were trapped in their

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Elderly Injured in Stampede for Freebies

stampede at senior citizen's day event in Taipei City
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , ,

Dozens of senior citizens were injured and one was rushed to hospital after a stampede for lucky tickets and free gifts at a Taipei City Government organized event this morning, October 28. Taipei City Social Welfare Department held an annual Senior Citizen’s Day activity and invited older residents to join the Mayor on a hike starting in Beitou District. Around 7,000 people were expected at the event, according to a press release issued by the Social Welfare Department. According to

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21 Year-old Firefighter Dies Fighting Factory Fire

Fire 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A young firefighter was found dead by colleagues after entering a factory on fire in Hsinchu County this afternoon. The firefighter was wearing breathing apparatus at the time, and the cause of death has not been established. At around 2:00pm, 21 year-old Lin Yongxuan (林永軒) was on the third floor of the 7 floor factory with another firefighter and a member of staff of Solartech Energy Corp. According to media reports, Lin’s colleague left to replenish his air tank, and

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Truck in Horror Crash Overloaded: Driver Unlicensed

a truck and car involved in a multiple fatality accident on freeway 3 October 24, 2017
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A police investigation into a crash on Freeway 3 in Taichung yesterday, that saw a family of three killed, revealed that the truck was overloaded, and the truck driver was not licensed to drive a heavy vehicle. Shortly after 3:00pm yesterday, October 24, a semi-trailer carrying steel beams went out of control in the south-bound lanes, jumped the central traffic divider, and slammed into an Audi sedan traveling north-bound. The 41 year-old driver of the sedan, his 35 year-old wife,

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Worker Clearing Giant Hornets Falls to his Death

man who fell to his death at the bottom of a gorge
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

A man fell 40 meters to his death while attempting to remove a hive of Asian giant hornets in Taroko National Park today. The sixty year-old man named Yeh was working in a four-person team outsourced to deal with the hornets, which are also called tiger head hornets. National Parks authorities had deemed the hornets a threat to visitors in the park. The hive was described as being the size of two basketballs and located on a tree next to

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Bus Brakes Fail: 1 Dead, 23 Injured

coach crash in Nantou County
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A tour coach carrying a group from a church in Tainan crashed on a mountain road in Nantou County this afternoon leaving one passenger dead and 23 people injured. The group from the Presbyterian Tainan Datong Christian Church had just visited Qingjing Farm and were on their way home on Provincial Highway 14 when the driver suddenly called out “brake failure” and crashed into a tree at around 3:00pm. According to reports including United Daily News, some passengers were thrown

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Cocaine and Cannabis Concealed in Shock Absorbers

cannabis hidden in shock absorbers
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Customs officers at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport intercepted shipments of cocaine and cannabis hidden in shock absorbers on October 20 and October 23 respectively and police made two arrests yesterday when the suspects attempted to take delivery of the shipments. An x-ray examination of the shock absorbers drew customs officers’ attention October 20, and after cutting one open, the officers found cocaine. A total of 3.983kg of cocaine was found in the shipment. The Customs Bureau and Police agencies formed

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Taiwan’s First Articulated, Low-deck, Electric Buses in Service

articulated low deck electric bus
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Articulated, Low-deck, electric buses started trial operations in Kaohsiung today, October 24, and are free to the public during the trial period up to October 31. The Kaohsiung City Transportation Bureau said the trial period will be used to assess the public’s acceptance of the vehicles and evaluate the feasibility of using the buses on major routes. The 18 meter long buses are manufactured by Taiwan company Leon Energy (力歐新能源公司) and utilize Lithium titanate batteries, allowing much faster charging than

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