2 dead, 8 injured in 20 vehicle crash on West Coast Expressway

Two people died and eight were injured after a multivehicle pile-up involving six trucks and 14 cars on the West Coast Expressway, this morning, Sunday, February 21.

The crash occurred on the Yunjia Bridge at the boundary of Yunlin and Chiayi counties at 7:30 am.

One person was obviously dead at the scene of the accident, and was not sent to hospital. Another was without vital signs, and was declared dead at the hospital. Eight people were described as being slightly injured.

The Chiayi County Fire Department said that it received a report at 7:31 am of a 20-vehicle pile-up at the 254 kilometer mark in the northbound lanes of the West Coast Expressway, (Provincial Highway 61).

According to a preliminary investigation, dense fog and poor visibility is suspected to be a factor in the cause of the accident. However, the cause of the accident still needs to be further investigated and clarified, according to traffic accident investigators from the Yunlin County Police Department.

United Daily News reported a truck driver saying there was thick fog at the time of the accident. The truck driver said that visibility was only a few meters, and he heard the crash in front of him before running into it. Then he felt a series of bumps and heard a series of crashes from behind.

The weather bureau also confirmed that the area was affected by heavy fog, low cloud, and air pollution at the time of the accident, according to United Daily News.

Sources consulted for this report included United Daily News, Up media, China Times.

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