Video shows police, passersby trying to rescue victims in fatal car crash

Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) Several police officers and passersby rushed to rescue people trapped inside a blazing car, after it crashed into a traffic barrier on National Freeway No. 1 in Taoyuan late Saturday, according to a video released Sunday by the National Highway Police Bureau.

Seven police officers stationed near the Yangmei Service Area, along with several passersby, rushed to rescue the driver and passengers from the electric vehicle after the crash, which claimed four lives and left four others injured, the bureau said.

They pried open the car door and pulled two adults and six children from the overcrowded car, according to the bureau.

Rescuers in the video could be heard shouting, "Someone's inside! Pull them out quickly!"

The 40-year-old male driver, surnamed Ni (倪) died at the scene. Three children -- a 10-year-old boy, a 4-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy -- were rushed to the hospital but later died of their injuries.

As of Sunday, Ni's 39-year-old wife, surnamed Chan (展), remained in a coma, while an 8-year-old boy was intubated and an 11-year-old girl was being treated for second-degree burns. A 4-year-old girl was fully conscious.

The three children died from traumatic head and abdominal injuries, as well as chest and abdominal bleeding, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office said Sunday, adding that an autopsy will be scheduled for the deceased driver.

The two adult victims were driving their three children and the three children of Chan's brother to visit family for the Lunar New Year, the Taoyuan Fire Department said.

Chan's brother, who visited the crash site on Sunday, said his family lived with his sister's family in Taichung. He had been hospitalized recently, and his wife was caring for him at the hospital, so they left their three children in his sister's care.

On the day of the accident, his sister, brother-in-law, and the children were returning to Taichung from Taoyuan. They had planned to meet up in Taichung before heading to Yunlin in the south to celebrate the Lunar New Year, he said.

The father expressed disbelief that such a simple trip could result in such a tragedy. His two-year-old son died in the crash, while his two daughters are still being treated in the hospital.