Driver in Jiangsu crash that killed three may have passed out at the wheel, police say
- Three of 13 travellers hit by car in Changzhou cycle lane die of injuries in hospital
- Man in Anhui detained for making comments about crash on social media
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Three commuters were killed and 10 were injured in eastern Jiangsu province on Wednesday after a driver lost control of his car and ran into a cycle lane, Changzhou police said.
A black Mercedes-Benz veered into the lane at around 10.47am, hit commuters on their electric scooters, headed towards an intersection and struck riders who were waiting at traffic lights.
Police said 13 people were taken to hospital for treatment. Three later died of their injuries.
A video by from Southern Metropolis Daily showed damaged road railings and bike parts scattered across the street. In the passenger seat of the car, a woman was seen crying into a phone, saying, “We hit so many people.”
A witness told Nanjing-based Yangtze Evening News that from a nearby restaurant she heard a loud bang, and when she ran outside, she saw people lying on the ground next to their bikes, and bodies beneath the car.
Commuter Wang Zhenjie told the same newspaper he heard the car behind him and tried unsuccessfully to swerve and avoid it. He was thrown into the air by the impact. He said he suffered scrapes and called the emergency services.
Police said the 35-year-old driver, sunamed Xu, is a mechanic who owns an auto paint shop. On Wednesday morning, he was accompanied by his wife, surnamed Wang, as he returned a car to a client. The police report said the couple had no criminal history and were not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
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Investigators said Wang told them her husband passed out at the wheel, foaming at the mouth, and lost control of the car.
On Thursday, the Weibo account of police in nearby Fuyang, Anhui province, announced that a man had been detained for five days for making “inappropriate” comments about the accident on social media.
The 29-year-old Fuyang resident, surnamed Zhang, was said to have posted in a WeChat group “only three were killed? That is far from enough” after a video of the accident was posted.
