1 dead, 1 injured in separate bus accidents in Taichung

Taichung, Sept. 27 (CNA) A female electric scooter rider died after being hit by a school bus in Taichung Friday morning, while a taxi passenger was injured in a four-vehicle collision involving a bus in the afternoon, according to local authorities in the city, which is still reeling from another recent deadly bus accident.

A 74-year-old woman surnamed Tai (臺) was hit from behind by a school bus as she drove an electric scooter on Zhongshan Road in Taiping District, and pronounced dead at the scene by first responders, according to the local police.

The minibus driven by a 65-year-old man surnamed Hsieh (謝) was carrying around a dozen of students, none of whom were injured, said the Taichung City Police Department's Taiping Precinct, which received a report about the accident at 7:21 a.m.

The coroner determined that Tai died of serious trauma to her head and chest caused by the accident, with alcohol tests on her and the driver negative, the Taichung District Prosecutors Office said.

The driver was questioned and granted bail by prosecutors and the accident is being investigated as a manslaughter case, according to the office.

Meanwhile, a man in his 80s was taken to the hospital after receiving an injury to his face, when the taxi he was in collided with two cars and a bus operated by Ubus on Minquan Road near Zhonghua West Street in Taichung's West District, according to the Taichung City Police Department.

The Taichung City Fire Bureau said it received a report about the accident at 1:45 p.m. and dispatched ambulances to the scene.

The four drivers all passed a breathalyzer test, and the police suspect the collision was caused by the bus running into the back of the three cars waiting at traffic lights.

The police department said its Traffic Police Corps continues to investigate the accident.

The two accidents on Friday took place at a time when the city government faces heightened scrutiny over road safety issues, after an undergraduate student at Tunghai University was killed and another injured by a Geya Bus Transport Co. bus at a crosswalk in Taichung on Sept. 22 night.

Given the recent accidents involving buses, the Highway Bureau has been instructed on Friday to work with city and county governments around Taiwan and plans retraining courses for bus and school bus drivers to pay attention to pedestrians on crosswalks at intersections, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

The bureau's motor vehicles offices and local governments will carry out safety inspections of bus and school bus operators, and will increase road checks focusing on whether bus drivers follow traffic rules for large vehicles making turns at intersections, the ministry said in a statement Friday.