By KHT Staff
KAOHSIUNG — A suspected drug-impaired driving incident in Daliao District (大寮區) early Wednesday left two people injured and briefly cut power to hundreds of households after a fleeing vehicle crashed into an electrical pole, police said.
According to the Linyuan Precinct (林園分局), officers received a report around 1:15 a.m. on Feb. 25 of a sedan swerving along Section 1, Guangming Road (光明路一段). Police attempted to stop the vehicle for inspection, but the driver allegedly refused to comply and rammed a patrol car before speeding away.
The vehicle continued fleeing before losing control and crashing into a roadside power pole. Officers found two occupants inside: a 35-year-old male driver surnamed Chen (陳) and a 32-year-old female passenger surnamed Kuo (郭). Both were injured but conscious and were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said Chen claimed he fled because he feared being stopped by officers. A search of the vehicle uncovered electronic cigarette oil containing etomidate (依托咪酯), and while Chen tested negative for alcohol, a preliminary saliva drug screening returned a positive result. He was referred to prosecutors on suspicion of violating the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例), obstructing official duties, and causing a traffic accident before fleeing.
The crash severed the power pole and damaged nearby lines, causing outages affecting 301 households. Taiwan Power Company (台電) dispatched repair crews immediately, and later reduced the number of affected households to 55 as restoration work continued.
