Traffic accident victims and their relatives attend the trial as spectators
Defendant Shi Xiaolin (left) is brought to court
The prosecution charged the offending driver Shi Xiaolin with "causing a traffic accident," which differs from Sun Weiying's case where he was charged with "endangering public safety by dangerous means." Traffic police analyze the reasons behind this difference.
On December 4, 2009, at 16:06, a severe car accident occurred at the Caiquan intersection on Tingjiang East Road in Shifang City: the offending driver Shi Xiaolin drove a blue Chevrolet car under the influence of alcohol and at excessive speed, resulting in 4 deaths and 4 injuries. Yesterday morning, the Shifang Court held a trial for this traffic accident case. Standing at the defendant's stand, Shi Xiaolin dared not look at the victims' family members...
Speeding drunk driving caused a tragic scene recorded by surveillance cameras
At 9:20 AM, there were many people outside the courthouse.
After much effort, local resident Liu Shuhua obtained two audience passes. One pass was his own, while the other was for his wife Zeng Fanju sitting in a wheelchair. During the "December 4" traffic accident on Caiquan Road in Shifang City, his mother-in-law, Mou Shiqiong from Group 4 of Jiantai Village, Yuanshi Town, Shifang City, and his 35-year-old wife Zeng Fanju were waiting for a bus at the Caiquan Road bus stop.
"That afternoon, I accompanied my mom to the hospital to see a dentist, then I went to the bank to withdraw money, preparing to return to our shop." Zeng Fanju, pale-faced and sitting in a wheelchair, had her right leg broken into three parts in this car accident, her right arm and pelvis completely fractured. However, what pains her more than her physical condition is that after the accident, she was separated from her mother in death. "We waited for the bus at the bus stop, when suddenly a blue car came quickly from the opposite direction, crossing the double solid line from the De(阳)-Shi(邡) intersection towards us. The car turned left suddenly, overturning a tricycle first, then colliding with several people waiting for the bus and pedestrians walking nearby. I just tried to pull my mom out of the way when the car hit us."
During the trial, the prosecution played surveillance footage from the Caiquan intersection at the time of the incident. Since the surveillance camera faced another direction, at 4:09 PM, it was adjusted to point at the accident site. A blue car with its front windshield shattered was seen parked at the Caiquan Road bus stop. There were many onlookers around, some traffic police directing traffic, injured people lying on the ground, and the bodies of those who perished, presenting a very grim scene.
Mortgaged property for compensation; defendant has no money to hire a lawyer
During yesterday's trial of Shi Xiaolin's case, the defense seat was empty. A person claiming to be a relative of Shi Xiaolin said that after the accident, the family's house was mortgaged for 260,000 yuan to pay for the deceased's funeral expenses and part of the medical fees for the injured. Now, Shi Xiaolin no longer has the money to hire a lawyer.
According to the investigation by the Shifang traffic police department, during the incident, Shi Xiaolin drove at high speed across the center double solid line, first overturning an oncoming pedal tricycle, killing the rider Guo Yingxiu. Then the car rushed onto the left side of the street's bus stop, killing three people including Mou Shiqiong waiting for the bus and injuring four others including Zeng Fanju. Subsequent testing determined that the Chevrolet car met safety technical standards, with a reference speed of 96 km/h at the time of the incident. The blood alcohol content (mg/100mL) of the offender Shi Xiaolin at the time of the accident was 90.5, qualifying as drunk driving. According to the accident determination report issued by the Shifang Public Security Bureau, Shi Xiaolin's drunk driving, speeding, and violation of traffic signals were identified as the causes of the accident.
Charged with causing a traffic accident; traffic police analyze the reasons
Driving drunk at excessive speed in a busy downtown area resulted in 4 deaths and 4 injuries, consequences equally severe as the Sun Weiying case. Why did the prosecution not charge Shi Xiaolin with "endangering public safety by dangerous means"? After yesterday's trial, we interviewed Deputy Director Li Liangan of the Shifang Traffic Police Brigade regarding this matter.
Li Liangan stated that on September 11 last year, the Supreme People's Court issued an "opinion on legal application issues related to drunk driving crimes." In the opinion, it states that if a person knows that drunk driving is illegal and that drunk driving endangers public safety but ignores the law and drives drunk, especially continuing to drive recklessly after an accident, causing significant casualties, this indicates that the person subjectively holds an indifferent attitude towards continuously occurring harmful results and has the intention to endanger public safety. For such cases of drunk driving causing major casualties, they should be legally charged with "endangering public safety by dangerous means."
"According to our investigation, after the accident, Shi Xiaolin did not flee but immediately called the 110 emergency hotline and his wife Zhang Mou, without committing further criminal acts while driving," Li Liangan said. There is a significant difference in sentencing between the crime of causing a traffic accident and the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means. In cases where the perpetrator does not cause death due to fleeing, the maximum sentence for causing a traffic accident is 7 years, whereas the maximum sentence for endangering public safety by dangerous means can be capital punishment. Therefore, the victims' families hope to prosecute Shi Xiaolin with "endangering public safety by dangerous means," which differs from our investigative findings, but this is understandable.
Written and photographed by reporter Liao Xingyou and Ding Wei