Private car takes a detour and falls off a cliff, resulting in 4 deaths and 1 injury! Latest response from Hechi, Guangxi: 27 kilometers of road not repaired for 3 years | accident | private car

Recently, Mr. Zhang, a villager from Dahua Yao Autonomous County, Hechi City, Guangxi, reported to Red Star News that on May 31 this year, his brother drove back from the market in Bansheng Township of the county to his home in Lanpeng Tun, drove to the Bihou Tun section, and turned over a cliff at a downhill bend. Mr. Zhang's brother was injured, and four passengers in the car unfortunately died, including a child under one year old.

Mr. Zhang told Red Star News that on July 6th, he received a certificate of recognition for the traffic accident, and the traffic police believed that "the driver did not comply with traffic laws and regulations and assumed full responsibility for the accident.". The two brothers were dissatisfied with the determination of responsibility and submitted an application for a review of the traffic accident determination to the Traffic Police Detachment of the Hechi Public Security Bureau. The application pointed out that the transportation bureau of Dahua Yao Autonomous County was "poorly supervised", and a third-class highway project originally planned to be completed in 2021 was not completed when the accident occurred due to the delay, so people had to bypass the village road with poor walking surface. The two brothers believe that the county transportation bureau should bear partial responsibility for the traffic accident in this case.

▲ Respondents provided pictures of the road surface conditions of the incident section

On July 11th, staff from the Transportation Bureau of Hechi City told Red Star News that due to the above-mentioned highway construction project crossing the national geological park, difficulties such as environmental impact assessment rectification and high construction difficulty have been encountered, and various factors have caused delays in the construction period. The Municipal Transportation Bureau has always attached great importance to this construction project, and has communicated, supervised, and coordinated with multiple parties, striving to ensure the completion of the project by the end of 2023 while ensuring the safety of personnel from all parties.

The Red Star News reporter learned from the staff responsible for handling the traffic accident that the traffic police initially judged that the vehicle in the accident was driving too close to the outside of the road, and "the operation was not good.". On July 25th, in response to Mr. Zhang's application, the Traffic Police Detachment of Hechi City Public Security Bureau issued a review conclusion on the road traffic accident and decided to maintain the responsibility recognition of the County Public Security Bureau. Regarding this, Mr. Zhang stated that he will consider filing an administrative lawsuit.

Private car falling off a cliff resulting in 4 deaths and 1 injury

Driver is fully responsible for traffic accidents

Mr. Zhang's brother told Red Star News that on May 31st, he drove an SUV and went to the market in Bansheng Township with his uncle to buy decoration materials. At around 3 pm, they were preparing to return from the market. At the entrance of the vegetable market, two women with a child under 1 year old stopped their car and expressed their desire to take their car to Nongliyao Village. He agreed.

At 16:28 on the same day, when the vehicle was driving on the road from Gequan Tun to Bihou Tun in Nongli Village, Bansheng Township, it overturned a cliff. Mr. Zhang's brother was seriously injured, and all four other people on board died.

Mr. Zhang's brother claimed that the road involved was uneven, covered in gravel, and difficult to drive due to bumps. Driving to the downhill section, there were two consecutive bends. When passing the first bend, he stepped on the brake to slow down and passed smoothly. As he was about to take the second turn, in order to be more cautious, he "prepared to brake and step back a bit before taking the second turn." However, he found that the brake pedal had become "hard" and it was difficult to press down, making it impossible for the car to stop. He turned the steering wheel all the way to the inside of the road and tried his best to save it, but the car still overturned a cliff.

The recognition letter issued by the Traffic Management Brigade of the Public Security Bureau of Dahua Yao Autonomous County on July 6th regarding the road traffic accident shows that the road at the site of the accident was "built with self raised funds by the Bansheng Township People's Government according to the standards of village level highways, with a mud bound gravel road surface. The effective road width at the bend where the vehicle fell at the accident site is 685 centimeters, the shoulder width is 200 centimeters, and there is no guardrail.". "The direction of the vehicle's movement on the accident section is downhill and sharp turns... The south side is a cliff, and the north side is adjacent to a mountain; the road surface is mud and gravel loss, uneven, and dry. The longitudinal slope of the road connecting the downhill bends is 12 degrees, and the radius of the bends is 19.47 meters. At the time of the accident, the weather was clear and the line of sight was good."

Another judicial appraisal shows that, except for serious damage caused by the accident, there are no abnormalities in the braking and steering systems of the vehicle.

The traffic accident recognition certificate confirms that the driver's failure to comply with traffic laws and regulations, drive safely according to operating standards, and drive in a civilized manner is the fundamental cause of the accident. If the accident is caused by unilateral illegal fault, the driver should bear full responsibility for the road traffic accident.

On July 11th, a reporter from Red Star News learned from the staff of the Traffic Management Brigade of the County Public Security Bureau that based on preliminary judgment, Mr. Zhang's brother was driving too close to the outside of the road, and the speed was a bit fast, making it difficult to return to the direction in time. "The operation was not good," and the vehicle eventually fell off a cliff.

Family members said they could have chosen a county road with better road conditions

But the 27 kilometer project has not been completed for 3 years

Mr. Zhang's brother told Red Star News that while driving that day, he had slowed down on a downhill section and did not press the accelerator. He is not familiar with the passengers on the way, nor does he chat while driving. I have not violated any safety driving regulations and have not engaged in uncivilized behavior. If there are guardrails along the road, perhaps the car will not overturn the cliff.

Mr. Zhang pointed out that his brother and his team could have chosen to take County Road X898, which had better road conditions that day. However, since 2020, the "Dahua Bancheng Baidu third-class highway Project" has been constructed along the county road X898, which is sometimes closed to traffic. As of now, the project has not been completed, and residents need to detour through village level small roads for travel. The road surface is paved with gravel, and there are many bends, which poses a higher safety risk. On May 31st, County Road X898 was blocked, and they chose to take a detour.

Red Star News reporter learned that in March this year, Mr. He, a local resident, reported to the Hechi City Transportation Bureau that the road construction project had been postponed until it became inconvenient for the public to travel and detours increased safety hazards. Mr. He told Red Star News that since the construction of the project, the road surface of County Road X898 has been in poor condition, with no guardrails on the roadside and uneven sand and gravel roads. He has encountered traffic jams on this section of the road. In January of this year, he felt his chassis scraped while driving on County Road X898 under construction. After parking in a safe area, he found that the engine oil pan was broken.

Mr. He's engine oil pan is damaged. Respondents provide pictures

On April 10, 2023, Hechi Transportation Bureau replied to Mr. He that the whole line of Dahua Baidu third-class highway was 27 kilometers long. The project was started on April 18, 2020, with a contract period of 18 months and a contract completion date of October 17, 2021. Due to the project crossing through the National Geological Company and the environmental impact assessment of scenic spots, as well as the failure to obtain approval for forest land indicators, the entire project was suspended from May 2021. On September 30, 2022, the entire project resumed work, and the supplementary agreement period was extended to June 30, 2023.

As mentioned in the reply, as of late March 2023, the total amount of project completion is about 60%, and the overall progress is very slow. The Transportation Bureau of Hechi City attaches great importance to the construction of the project, pointing out that the participating units of the project have insufficient ideological awareness, weak overall awareness, weak execution ability and poor performance ability of the construction unit; The construction unit has weak service awareness and low work efficiency. The relevant leaders and technicians of the Transportation Bureau have visited and communicated with the project implementation site for many times, urged the People's Government of Dahua Yao Autonomous County to implement the main responsibility, urged the construction unit to do a good job in problem rectification, increased supervision and efficiency, and ensured the completion of the target task of connecting Bansheng Township to third-class highway in 2023.

Driver involved applies for review of responsibility determination

Traffic Police Detachment of the Municipal Public Security Bureau: Maintaining the original responsibility determination

Mr. Zhang believed that if the "Dahua Board to Baidu third-class highway Project" could be repaired earlier, my brother would not have to detour from the village level highway that day, which might avoid accidents. After sending a letter to the Hechi Transportation Bureau to report the situation, on June 26th, the bureau replied that the relevant departments and responsible persons attach great importance to the project and have had multiple interviews and supervision with the construction unit. As of the time of reply, the overall progress of the project has been completed by 70%, ensuring the completion of the main road surface project by the end of December 2023.

Mr. Zhang's route schematic diagram

In response to Mr. Zhang's request, the Transportation Bureau of Hechi City stated that after the responsibility for the accident is clarified, the families of the deceased and injured should then propose compensation responsibilities for the relevant responsible persons based on the division of responsibilities.

On July 7th, Mr. Zhang's brother submitted an application for a review of the traffic accident recognition certificate to the Traffic Police Detachment of the Hechi Public Security Bureau. In the application, Mr. Zhang's brother stated that the road involved was too curved and steep, with no safety barriers installed. Prior to the incident, there were no safety driving warning signs or signs, and the road surface was uneven, lacking a sense of driving safety. The township government failed to fulfill its obligation to manage and maintain the village level highways, and should bear the main responsibility for the accidents; The transportation bureau of Dahua Yao Autonomous County failed to supervise the construction of the third-class highway from the county seat to Bansheng Township. The "Dahua Bansheng third-class highway project", which is less than 30 kilometers long, was delayed for nearly two years. The masses had to detour, and the safety risk increased, so they should bear part of the responsibility for the accident.

On July 11, the staff of Hechi Transportation Bureau told Red Star News that the "Dahuaban to Baidu third-class highway Project" crosses the National Geopark, and the relationship between road construction and natural resource protection needs to be handled well, so the construction is difficult. After active communication and coordination from multiple parties, the project resumed work on September 30, 2022, after being suspended for over a year. The Transportation Bureau of Hechi City has repeatedly urged the construction units, proposed improvement suggestions, and demanded that the project be completed by the end of this year.

The staff stated that since the start of the project construction, the construction road has been in a semi open state, and social vehicles need to slowly pass at a speed of about 5 kilometers per hour under the command of the staff. When engineering operations pose a high risk of road conditions, the road will be closed. Regarding Mr. Zhang's request, the Transportation Bureau of Hechi City will handle it in accordance with the law and regulations based on the determination of traffic accident responsibility.

▲ Conclusion of Road Traffic Accident Review by the Traffic Police Detachment of Hechi Public Security Bureau

On July 28th, in the conclusion of the road traffic accident review by the Traffic Police Detachment of Hechi City Public Security Bureau, it was stated that the Traffic Management Brigade of Dahua Yao Autonomous County Public Security Bureau, in handling this road traffic accident, determined that the facts were clear, the evidence was sufficient, the law was accurately applied, the division of responsibilities was fair, and the investigation procedure was legal. The Traffic Police Detachment of the Municipal Public Security Bureau has decided to maintain the responsibility recognition of the Traffic Management Brigade of the Dahua Yao Autonomous County Public Security Bureau.

Mr. Zhang stated that he will consider filing an administrative lawsuit with relevant departments.