By KHT Staff
TAINAN — A 54-year-old woman was killed Friday afternoon in Tainan’s Baihe District (白河區) after a car reportedly passed traffic on the shoulder and struck her as she waited by the roadside to throw away garbage.
The crash happened around 4 p.m. on May 8 along County Highway 172 (172縣道), according to local media reports. (WARNING! The video is graphic) A video circulating online shows residents standing near the roadside with trash bags as they wait for a garbage truck. A vehicle then appears to move onto the shoulder at high speed to pass traffic before hitting the woman and throwing her into the air.
The driver was identified in reports as a 67-year-old man surnamed Cheng (鄭). He reportedly told authorities after the crash that he did not know what had happened and that his mind had “gone blank” as the vehicle moved from the inner lane toward the outer side of the road.
The victim was described in local reports as a 54-year-old homemaker.
The case has drawn attention because many residents in Taiwan wait along roadsides for scheduled garbage trucks, often on narrow or fast-moving roads where there is little separation between pedestrians and traffic.
