ROAD SAFETY/1 pedestrian killed, 15 injured after rear-end bus collision in Taipei

Taipei, Nov. 17 (CNA) A pedestrian was killed and 15 other people, including eight Thai tourists, were injured on Sunday following a rear-end collision involving two city buses and a taxi in Taipei's Zhongzheng District, police said.

According to the Taipei City Police Department, it received a call around 9 a.m. about a three-vehicle crash in front of the Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel, in which a female pedestrian had been trapped under a bus.

Upon arriving at the scene, emergency personnel found the 50-year-old pedestrian suffering from severe external injuries and not breathing. The woman was sent to National Taiwan University Hospital for emergency treatment, but was later pronounced dead, the police department said.

Based on a preliminary investigation, police said the accident is believed to have occurred when a Route 49 city bus making a right turn from Zhongxiao East Road onto Zhenjiang Street, stopped to allow pedestrians to cross the street.

As the first bus stopped, a Route 312 city bus behind it, driven by a 23-year-old woman surnamed Hsieh (謝), rear-ended the first bus, causing it to lurch forward and hit a pedestrian as well as a taxi stopped at a red light, police said.

Besides the pedestrian, the driver and 12 passengers on the first bus and two passengers on the second bus sustained minor injuries in the crash, and were sent to nearby hospitals for treatment.

According to Taipei police, the accident is believed to have occurred because Hsieh, the driver of the second bus, did not notice the bus in front of her had stopped.

All three drivers passed breathalyzer tests, police said, adding that the exact cause of the accident is still being investigated