ction in Shalu Township in central Taichung County early yesterday morning. The truck driver himself was injured in one of the worst traffic accidents of the year. Trailer driver Hsu Ji-chang, 28, told police that his truck lost its brake while transporting a shipment of timber from the Taichung industrial zone to Taichung Harbor a little after 8 a.m.
Hsu said he discovered the brake malfunction after the truck lost control and knocked down trees by a gas station, after which it hit the tail of a 15-ton truck.
He then turned onto Shatien Road, where he rammed into motorcyclists waiting at the intersection.
An eyewitness, a motorcyclist waiting for the traffic light, said two of the bikers before him were knocked down and two more were carried by the wheels of the trailer.
The trailer came to a halt only after its head tipped over more than 100 meters away.
Rescuers rushing to the scene said that two of the four victims died on the scene due to multiple injuries.
The other two died after being taken to hospital.
The victims included a women aged 46 and a 23-year-old university graduate who was on his way to school to prepare for an examination to enter a graduate school.
According to police, the other victims were two men aged 20 and 75, respectively.
Police conducted a test and found that driver Hsu was not driving while intoxicated.
Hsu, who was recovering in hospital, said he regretted the accident, but he insisted the mishap was caused by the malfunction of the trailer's brake.
Police were conducting further tests to determine the cause of the traffic accident.
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