Man kills 2 and injures 1, abandons car and flees - Traffic police track down the "road killer" over a thousand miles
Zuo Xuezhang
On December 8, the High-Speed Six Team of Hefei Public Security Bureau's Traffic Police officially submitted an "Application for Arrest Approval" to the Lujiang County People's Procuratorate, requesting the arrest of suspect Tian Moumou who fled the scene after driving at night and killing innocent people. With this, the major traffic accident escape case that occurred on January 18th on the He(Fei) An(Qing) Expressway in Lujiang County was successfully solved, bringing the case to a satisfactory conclusion.
After flipping the car, he abandoned it and fled
At around 5:00 AM on January 18, amidst heavy snow and freezing temperatures, Tian Moumou, from Weishan County, Jining City, Shandong Province, employed by the vehicle owner to drive a truck with a Shandong H license plate delivering goods from Shandong to Guangdong, was traveling through the Lujiang section of the He'an Expressway when his truck collided with a passenger van with an Anhui H license plate parked in the emergency lane due to a previous accident. This resulted in the death of the van driver Cai Mou and his son sitting in the front seat, and serious injuries to Cai's wife inside the van. Upon seeing the three individuals in the van bleeding heavily, Tian immediately realized the severity of his actions and quickly abandoned the goods and vehicle, quietly fleeing the scene.
Soon after, the police determined that Tian Moumou had been driving too fast at night, lacked skill, and incorrectly estimated the road conditions during the snowy weather, leading to his vehicle colliding with the passenger van parked in the emergency lane. This caused damage to both vehicles, two deaths, one serious injury, with Tian bearing primary responsibility for the accident, thus committing the crime of traffic manslaughter. Due to the severe consequences of the accident, resulting in two deaths and one serious injury within a family in the van, the case garnered significant social attention and was treated as a major case by the police.
Suspect plays hide-and-seek with traffic police
After the incident, the Special Task Force of the High-Speed Six Team of Hefei Public Security Bureau’s Traffic Police (previously known as Chaohu Public Security Bureau Traffic Police Third Team) was immediately established. Deputy Captain Shen Aiqing led the accident handling officers to rush to Tian Moumou’s registered address in Jining City, Shandong Province, but Tian had already fled elsewhere, rendering the first capture attempt unsuccessful. Over the following ten months, despite multiple pursuits by the police, all efforts were thwarted due to lack of reliable information.
After the nationwide "Clear Web Operation" began in autumn this year, the Hefei traffic police formed a fugitive pursuit team and once again went to Weishan, Shandong, to conduct the pursuit operation. They patiently worked on the ideological front with Tian Moumou's family, persuading him to surrender to the police voluntarily. However, Tian remained obstinate, continuing his escape, deliberately evading legal accountability.
On November 29, Deputy Captain Shen Aiqing led the traffic police back to Shandong, attempting to mobilize Tian Moumou's family to persuade him to surrender voluntarily before the "Clear Web Operation" ended on December 1st, in hopes of receiving lenient treatment under the law. Yet, Tian continued to act stubbornly, ignoring phone calls from relatives and persistently hiding.
Joint efforts between Shandong and Anhui provinces catch the "road killer"
On the afternoon of December 1st, Hefei police received accurate information that Tian Moumou was at a construction site in Longkou City, Shandong Province. The Hefei police immediately requested support from the Longkou Public Security Bureau. After receiving instructions from the city's criminal investigation team for joint operations, the Donghai Police Station of Longkou Public Security Bureau promptly devised a capture plan. Investigators disguised themselves as house buyers to investigate the building where Tian was working, finding a young man laboring who bore a striking resemblance to Tian Moumou. The man spoke with a strong Jining accent and claimed to be from Weishan County. After verifying the photos, the police confirmed that this man was indeed Tian Moumou and planned to make the arrest accordingly.
At the time, Tian Moumou was holding an iron hammer while working on a sloped roof. A forced arrest could have resulted in injuries to the police or the fugitive falling off the building. The police decided to lure him to a safer location before making the arrest. Given Tian's strong anti-detection awareness, when the police approached, he quickly ran towards another building's staircase. Around 8 PM on December 1st, the police discovered he was hiding in a dormitory of fellow workers in another residential area, intending to flee Longkou early the next morning.
After confirming that Tian Moumou was in fellow worker Ma's dormitory, the police located Xu, the foreman of Tian's carpentry work group. Xu knocked on Ma's door, and the public security officers swiftly moved to apprehend Tian Moumou. The arrest was successful.
Upon interrogation, Tian Moumou confessed to the facts of his hit-and-run traffic accident.