Chinese drink-driving suspect accused of fleeing scene without realising his son had been killed
Minibus driver tells police he did not realise wife and son had been involved in alleged hit-and-run incident
A drink-driving suspect who is accused of fleeing the scene after his minibus collided with an electric bicycle in eastern China later discovered that his son had been killed and his wife seriously injured in the incident, according to local police.
The man, who was identified only by his surname Zhang, was alone in his minibus when the electric bicycle was hit on March 22 in Zibo, Shandong province.
Police said on Monday that his wife had suffered bone fractures and was receiving treatment. The exact cause of the boy’s death has yet to be determined.
The accident happened after the family had eaten dinner with friends. The man is accused of drinking alcohol at the meal, according to a report by Thepaper.cn last week.
The wife rode home on the electric bike with their son, who was aged six or seven, sitting on the back seat. The man drove home in the minibus.
The driver fled the scene after the accident, leaving the mother and son lying on the ground until a passer-by came across them about 11pm and called the police and ambulance, according to local news portal Zbnews.net.
The boy died in hospital despite attempts to save him.
Police used surveillance footage to track down the minibus and called the phone number registered for the vehicle. The call was answered by hospital staff who said they were still treating the owner of the phone.
Police realised the suspect could be related to the victims, and arrested him when he arrived at the hospital.
The news portals said the driver had admitted his involvement in the accident and claimed he did not know who the victims were when he left the scene.
Police are still processing the case.
