Court approves detention of driver in crash that killed 1, injured 6 (update)

Taipei, Sept. 17 (CNA) The Hsinchu District Court on Tuesday approved a request by prosecutors to detain the driver of a Mercedes sedan that struck and killed one person and injured six others in Hsinchu City a day earlier.

The Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office said the court had approved its request to detain the 34-year-old driver, surnamed Peng (彭), as he is investigated on suspicion of causing a death while driving a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs and negligently causing bodily injury.

The court, however, denied the prosecutors' request that Peng be held incommunicado, on the grounds he did not pose a collusion risk, the office said.

In the case, Hsinchu police said they received a report at 4:25 p.m. Monday about a vehicle that had driven into oncoming traffic, hitting two motorcycles in front of Hulin Junior High School in the city's Xiangshan District.

A 70-year-old woman surnamed Chung (鍾), who was riding on one of the motorcycles with her 5-year-old granddaughter, was killed on the spot, while her granddaughter suffered severe injuries to her liver.

Also injured on another motorcycle were a 69-year-old man surnamed Lee (李) and two grandsons, ages 4 and 8.

Lee and his older grandson both suffered bone fractures, while his 4-year-old grandson sustained more severe injuries, according to police.

On Tuesday, a member of the police department told CNA that a prop gun and a small amount of drugs had been found in the car with Peng, whose breathalyzer test came back negative.

Peng may have been under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash, but lab tests on the drug -- a form of a new psychoactive substance -- and Peng's urine are still being processed, the police officer said.

Meanwhile, a 30-year-old woman who was riding in the passenger seat of Peng's vehicle, also surnamed Peng, injured her foot in the crash and was sent to the hospital, but later snuck out and returned home, the officer said.

After bringing her back to a police station for questioning, officers discovered that she was a wanted fugitive in an unrelated fraud case and turned her over to prosecutors, the officer said.