President, lawmakers mourn victims of New Taipei car crash

Taipei, May 20 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Tuesday offered his condolences to families of the victims of a car crash in New Taipei on Monday that killed three people and injured 12, while lawmakers held a moment of silence for them at the Legislative Yuan.

In an address marking the first anniversary of his administration, Lai expressed his condolences to the families of those killed in the major traffic incident in New Taipei's Sanxia District.

"Central government agencies and the local government will work hand in hand to actively assist the families, quickly clarify the cause of the incident, conduct a thorough review and make improvements to prevent such a tragedy from happening again," Lai said in his address at the Presidential Office.

Meanwhile, Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) led lawmakers in a one-minute moment of silence at the Legislature on Tuesday to express sympathy for the victims of the tragedy.

The devastating car crash occurred at around 4 p.m. when a car driven by a 78-year-old man surnamed Yu (余) slammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School.

The incident left three people dead --two junior high school students and a woman in her 40s -- and 12 others injured, including the driver of the vehicle, according to local authorities.

The cause of the crash has yet to be determined.