Unlicensed driver who killed pedestrian arrested in Taichung

Taipei, Oct. 27 (CNA) Police in Taichung have arrested an 18-year-old, unlicensed driver who hit and killed a pedestrian before fleeing the scene and crashing his car in the city's Beitun District on Sunday.

The Taichung City Fire Bureau said it received a call at 9:05 a.m. Sunday reporting a pedestrian who had been struck by a vehicle on Lane 240 of Beitun Road in the central Taiwanese city's Beitun District.

Emergency personnel arrived at the scene to find a male victim, aged around 60, in a state of cardiac arrest. Efforts to save him failed, and he was later pronounced dead at hospital, the fire bureau said.

The Taichung Police Department's Fifth Precinct said the driver fled the scene of the incident, but he was arrested around 15 minutes later after he crashed his car into a power distribution box at the intersection of Taiyuan Road and Huanzhong East Road.

The driver, identified as an 18-year-old surnamed Pai (白), told police he wasn't aware that he had hit anyone.

He did not have a driver's license, but was driving a BMW sedan he claimed had been rented by a family member, the precinct said.

Although Pai passed a breathalyzer test and no drugs were found in his vehicle, test results to determine whether he was under the influence of drugs are still being processed, police said.

Police said Pai was being investigated on suspicion of negligent homicide. Other aspects of the case, including the details of the crash, the victim's autopsy results and legal responsibility for the car are still being looked into, the department said.