ive people were killed and one severely injured yesterday. The accident took place on a highway in Beigang a southwestern county in Taiwan during early morning, police said.
Police and witnesses said a white remodeled Honda Civic car bearing no license plate and carrying four people suddenly swerved into oncoming traffic on the highway at high speed.
It collided head on with a black car with two people inside.
The white car was cut into two sections and three people were thrown out. All four, including the driver, were killed.
The female driver of the black car was also killed and only the passenger, Lee Bing-nan, survived with serious multiple injuries.
Lee, 50, was taken to the Beigang Matsu Hospital where doctors said he will survive despite the injuries, including injuries to the head and a mild concussion.
Investigation on the site by police found 11 packages of illegal drugs, mainly heroin and amphetamine.
Police said Chi Kui-chang, one of the victims in the white car, was a known drug dealer under investigation.
At least one of the passengers in the same car had a record of illegal drug use.
Police said Chi could have been on his way for a transaction or on a return trip after finishing a drug deal.
This could be the reason why the car carrying Chi did not have a license plate.
Police said they will carry out autopsy to determine if the four men and one woman in the ill-fated car had used illegal drugs before the crash.
Lee, the sole survivor, said he returned from Kaohsiung to Beigang on Sunday to have some late night snacks.
When he tried to catch a taxi, a female acquaintance Hsu Shiu-yu happened to pass through the area and offered him a lift.
Lee said when Hsu was driving on the highway, the white car abruptly crossed into their lane from the opposition direction before Hsu could step on the brake.
He and other witnesses, including residents living along the highway, estimated the white car was moving at least 120 kilometers per hour.
One of the bodies thrown out from the speeding white car was recovered from a rice paddy nearby, according to police.
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