Unlicensed Changhua driver who hit 3 siblings, killing 2 indicted

Taipei, March 25 (CNA) An unlicensed driver who struck three young siblings crossing a Changhua County intersection, resulting in the deaths of two of them, was charged with negligent homicide Tuesday, over a year after the fatal crash occurred.

The Changhua District Prosecutors Office said in the indictment that the 74-year-old driver, surnamed Hsiao (蕭), hit the siblings at 6:21 p.m. on Feb. 23 of last year as they crossed an intersection in Shengang Township.

Video footage showed that the siblings had crossed the road despite there being a red pedestrian light, but were on the crosswalk when they were hit.

Of the three siblings, surnamed Chen (陳), the two sisters aged 10 and 8 were left in a coma, while their 7-year-old brother escaped the collision without serious injury.

The 10-year-old died in hospital on Sept. 5, while the 8-year-old died on Oct. 29.

In the indictment, prosecutors said that drivers have a responsibility to be aware of the road conditions in front of them, and should give way to pedestrians regardless of the traffic signal at the time.

A second review by a Traffic Accident Investigation Review Committee also concluded that Hsiao's failure to maintain proper awareness at a traffic control signal intersection with a pedestrian crosswalk was a "secondary cause" of the accident, prosecutors said.

Hsiao's lack of a driver's license and failure to properly yield to pedestrians at a crosswalk constituted sufficient grounds to charge him with negligent homicide over the girls' deaths, the indictment said.