28 injured in bus-truck collision on Freeway No. 1

New Taipei, Oct. 8 (CNA) Twenty-eight people sustained minor injuries early Wednesday after a bus and a heavy truck collided on the northbound section of National Freeway No. 1 near the 33.8-kilometer mark in Wugu District, New Taipei, highway police said.

The crash occurred at 6:52 a.m. and blocked traffic until 8 a.m., according to the National Highway Police Bureau in a statement.

Police received a report two minutes after the accident and officers, firefighters and emergency medical teams were immediately dispatched to the scene.

The bus driver and passengers suffered abrasions and minor injuries to their heads and legs. All 28 people were taken by ambulance to Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital, and Taipei Hospital for treatment. None were in a life-threatening condition, police said.

A preliminary investigation found that the truck driver, a 51-year-old man surnamed Chung (鍾), allegedly failed to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front, swerved into the outer lane before coming to an abrupt stop, causing a bus driven by a 64-year-old man surnamed Liu (劉) to crash into the rear of the truck.

Two lanes were closed after the crash, backing up traffic for about three kilometers.

Breathalyzer tests for both drivers came back negative, police said. The freeway was fully reopened by 8:16 a.m., and traffic has since returned to normal.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation, police said.