Family’s CNY Trip Ends In Tragedy In Taiwan as EV Hits Barrier and Catches Fire
One man and three children died, and four others were injured after an overloaded electric vehicle slammed into a traffic barrier and burst into flames on National Freeway No. 1 in Taoyuan late Saturday. The family was reportedly visiting relatives during the festive CNY season.
The Taoyuan Fire Department said it received a call Saturday evening about a vehicle carrying two adults and six children that had crashed and caught fire near the Yangmei Service Area.
Upon arriving at the scene, firefighters extinguished the fire at around 8 p.m., and, after finding the vehicle’s driver dead, sent the seven passengers to area hospitals for emergency treatment, the department said.
The National Highway Police Bureau said the accident occurred at 7:27 p.m. Saturday after the driver’s vehicle exited a section of the highway known as the Wugu-Yangmei elevated expressway.
After turning onto an exit ramp toward the Yangmei Service Area, the vehicle crashed into a traffic barrier and caught fire, for reasons that are still being investigated.
According to a United Daily News report, the ramp where the accident occurred splits traffic in two directions, with the outer lane leading to the Yangmei rest stop and the inner lane connecting to a street at ground-level.
A dashcam video circulating online appears to show the vehicle slamming into a barrier dividing the two lanes.
The vehicle involved in the crash was reportedly a Hyundai Ioniq 5, a battery electric compact crossover SUV. We previously reported on the battery replacement scandal of the Ioniq and now it’s in the limelight again.
