Two gravel truck drivers dead after head-on collision on Coastal Highway

Both drivers died after two gravel trucks collided on the Northern Coastal Highway in New Taipei City this morning, December 31.

According to Ruifang Police Precinct, two gravel trucks travelling in opposite directions crashed head on at 5:50 am at the 118.8 kilometer mark in Gongliao District. The impact of the crash left both truck cabins severely mangled with the two drivers trapped in the wreckage.

The 24-year-old driver of one of the trucks, named Lin, was “obviously dead” when firefighters extricated him from the wrecked cabin of his vehicle, and was not sent to hospital. The 64-year-old driver of the other vehicle, named Chen, was without vital signs at the scene of the accident. Fire department paramedics performed CPR as they rushed him to Gongliao District Health Center, but Chen was declared dead a short time after arrival.

The accident left the highway closed in both directions until 8:40 am. Traffic flow was limited to single-lane, two-way traffic until after 11:00 am. Being the first day of a three-day New Year holiday long weekend, a serious traffic jam ensued, with traffic backed up more than five kilometers for drivers heading east, and 1.6 kilometers for those traveling west.

Police are still investigation the cause of the accident.

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