A serious car accident occurred in Sanxia District, New Taipei City on the afternoon of May 19 this year. A retired old man, Yu Wenzheng (78 years old), was driving a car at the intersection of Guoguang Street and Guocheng Street (next to Beida Elementary School) when he suddenly ran a red light and lost control, hitting Sanxia Junior High School students and road users who were passing through the intersection after school, resulting in 3 deaths, 1 life-threatening, and 11 injuries. Yu Wenzheng himself was seriously injured and unconscious. After 13 days of rescue, he was pronounced dead on May 31. After a careful investigation, the New Taipei City Prosecutor’s Office determined that Yu Wenzheng was not suspected of intentional homicide, but because he died after committing the crime, he was not prosecuted today in accordance with the law.
Yu Wenzheng, the driver who caused the Sanxia car accident, died. The prosecutor’s investigation was completed and it was determined that he was not suspected of intentional homicide, but because of his death, he was not prosecuted in accordance with the law. Left flip screen, right Huang Jiaxian Facebook
Yu Wenzheng, the driver who caused the Sanxia car accident, died. The prosecutor’s investigation was completed and it was determined that he was not suspected of intentional homicide, but because of his death, he was not prosecuted in accordance with the law. Left flip camera, right Huang Jiaxian’s Facebook
The New Taipei prosecutor’s decision not to prosecute pointed out that Yu Wenzheng was involved in a case of driving a private car on Guocheng Street, Sanxia District, New Taipei City at around 4 pm on May 19 this year, causing 3 deaths and 12 injuries. After investigation, the prosecutor believed that Yu Weng was suspected of a serious crime of uncertain intentional homicide. Because Yu Weng died, according to Article 252, Paragraph 6 of the Criminal Procedure Law, Yu Weng was not prosecuted.
The prosecutor found out that Yu Wenzheng drove north from his hometown in Miaoli County to his home at around 13:00 on May 19 this year. At around 16:03:25, when he turned left at the intersection of Xuecheng Road and Guocheng Street in Sanxia District, New Taipei City, his left front wheel accidentally hit the head of the central dividing island, causing his forward movement to be blocked. At around 16:03:31, when he was reversing to clear the obstacle, he pushed the vehicle driven by a man surnamed Li behind him.
Unexpectedly, Yu Weng did not stop to deal with the accident after pushing and colliding. Instead, at about 16:03:35, he illegally turned left from the Shangkai intersection and drove into Guocheng Street. At 16:03:46, he hit the cyclist Wu on the right. At 16:03:47, he drove to the intersection of Guocheng Street and Guoguang Street and ran a red light, hitting the victim Hong who was waiting for the red light in front, the victim Ye who was the passenger of the victim Liu on the right front, the victim Wu and his passenger Liao, and then hit the pedestrians Wu, Liu, Zhang, Li, and Liu on the pedestrian crossing. Due to the impact, the pedestrian Li next to him was thrown out, as well as the victim Lin who was waiting for the red light on the opposite side and his passenger Huang.
Then, Yu Wenzheng ran through the red light and passed the intersection, then continued to drive into Lane 132, Fuxing Road. At 16:03:52, when he reached Lane 1, Lane 132, Fuxing Road, he hit pedestrians named Lin, Liu, and Chen on the right pedestrian lane. He continued to drive forward and hit the central dividing island (lamp pole 190012) at the intersection of Lane 132 and Fuxing Road at 16:03:58 before stopping, which ultimately resulted in 3 deaths and 12 injuries. Yu Weng was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment, but he still died on May 31 this year due to complications of multiple organ necrosis and sepsis.
Based on the evidence collected during the investigation, the prosecutor determined that there was no mechanical abnormality in the vehicle driven by Yu Wenzheng, and the throttle and brakes were not blocked by foot pads or external objects, which made it impossible to drive safely. Yu Weng was not drunk or drugged, and his illness and physiological changes were not enough to affect his consciousness. He was still very conscious at the time of the incident. His driving route before the incident was normal, and he had no driving disputes with others. His physical and mental condition was also normal, and he had the ability to drive normally.
The prosecutor further analyzed and pointed out that Yu Wenzheng’s driving behavior at the time of the incident could not confirm the relevance of the recorded events due to the type of the Event Data Recorder (EDR) of the vehicle causing the accident, and it was not possible to interpret it. After identifying the images of the driving recorder of the vehicle causing the accident, it was estimated that Yu Weng drove at a speed of up to 104.6 kilometers per hour, and there were specific behaviors such as dodging to the right and then driving back to the center of the lane, such as continuously controlling the steering wheel. There was only music in the car throughout the whole process, and Yu Weng did not hear any sound or brake.
In addition, the prosecutors investigated the distribution pattern and driving conditions of the tapioca pearls and other food materials scattered in the car and determined that they were scattered after a violent collision, and ruled out the possibility of eating tapioca pearls while driving. The prosecutors believed that Yu Wenzheng accelerated and turned left into Guocheng Street and drove at high speed all the way. He also dodged oncoming cars during driving and did not brake for nearly 400 meters. These driving behaviors showed that Yu Weng was still able to control the steering wheel to turn left smoothly into Guocheng Street and then return to the straight line, and he also did a series of driving actions such as dodging oncoming cars.
The prosecutor also found that Yu Wenzhen was silent throughout the entire process. Even if he initially panicked or wanted to flee the scene after pushing the car behind him, all the evidence and data from the investigation, as well as the fact that Yu Wenzhen had lived in and out of the area for many years, was familiar with the surrounding environment and the narrow lanes on his route, with many vehicles and pedestrians coming and going, and that the incident occurred during school hours, he should have known that driving at high speeds was very likely to result in a serious traffic accident. However, he continued to drive at a speed of more than 100 kilometers per hour, and even after the first collision, there was still no sign of braking. Although he was confident in his driving skills, he obviously had a mentality of not caring if casualties really occurred. It was determined that Yu Wenzhen had already conceived and foreseen the consequences of his dangerous driving behavior that would result in casualties during the incident, but he still caused the accident with an uncertain intentional motive of murder. Due to Yu Wenzhen’s death, the prosecutor decided not to prosecute him in accordance with the law.
