Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 22nd (reported by Li Jinghua) - Lawyer Zhang Zibiao fled the scene after a traffic accident caused by driving a BMW car under the influence of alcohol, resulting in the death of a 75-year-old elderly woman. On March 22nd, the Chaoyang District Court of Beijing announced the first-instance verdict of this traffic accident case: defendant Zhang Zibiao was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison for committing the crime of causing a traffic accident.
According to the court, Zhang Zibiao, aged 39, is a lawyer from a certain law firm in Beijing. At around 14:10 on June 29, 2010, Zhang Zibiao drove a sedan under the influence of alcohol, heading west from east, and when he reached the No. 17 lamp post on Tangjia Village Road in Chaoyang District, the front part of his vehicle struck and killed a 75-year-old pedestrian, Ms. Zhang. Afterwards, despite being informed by others that an accident had occurred, Zhang Zibiao still fled the scene by car.
At 20:40 on the same day, Zhang Zibiao surrendered himself to the public security authorities. According to the determination of the public security traffic management department, Zhang Zibiao was held fully responsible for this accident due to drunk driving and fleeing the scene after the accident.
During the investigation by the public security authorities, Zhang Zibiao's relatives had compensated Ms. Zhang's relatives with a total of RMB 650,000 for various economic losses. Ms. Zhang's relatives have expressed their understanding towards Zhang Zibiao.
In the trial, Zhang Zibiao stated that he had no objection to the charge of causing a traffic accident, but argued that at the time of the incident, he was unaware that his vehicle had hit someone. After being informed, he thought it was a "fraudulent collision" scam, so his departure from the accident scene was not an escape.
The court found that when the vehicle driven by Zhang Zibiao was involved in the traffic accident, the front right side of the vehicle made contact with the victim's body, and the vehicle chassis guard also made contact with the victim's body after she fell to the ground. As the driver of the vehicle, Zhang Zibiao should have had a clear sensation at the time of the accident. Therefore, Zhang Zibiao's in-court defense that "he did not know his vehicle had hit someone at the time of the incident" and his defense counsel's argument that "defendant Zhang Zibiao did not discover the traffic accident due to being unconscious from drinking" are contrary to common sense and do not match the facts of this case, thus the court does not accept them.
In addition, after the traffic accident occurred, a witness riding a motorcycle caught up with Zhang Zibiao and clearly informed him that a traffic accident had happened, yet Zhang Zibiao still refused to return to the accident scene. His behavior constitutes escaping after causing a traffic accident.
Regarding the result of the first-instance verdict, Zhang Zibiao indicated to the court that he needs to consider whether to appeal.
(Editor: SN020)