Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    A 30-YEAR-OLD mother and her son aged 9 were killed in a collision with a dump truck at the intersection of Bilan Road and Yuexing Road in Longhua District while riding on an electric bike at around 7 a.m. yesterday.

    The woman, surnamed Ding, was taking her son, surnamed Xie, to school when the accident happened, according to a witness surnamed Liang who posted photos online about the accident.

    The accident happened when the truck driver turned right from Bilan Road onto Yuexing Road. The driver didn’t notice hitting the two on the electric bike and pulled them about six to seven meters before stopping.

    Police have taken the driver, also surnamed Ding, a 29-year-old employee with Shenzhen Canghaisangtian Earth and Rocks Engineering Co., for investigation.

    “We are investigating the case and testing the speed of the truck before assigning responsibility between the two parties,” Zhang Lin, an officer with Longhua’s traffic police unit, said yesterday.

    Ding claimed he wasn’t aware of the accident when it happened. He said that he hadn’t been able to see the two on the bike when he turned right.

    A similar accident happened Oct. 3 last year, when a truck with Shenzhen Yingxing Cargo Transportation Co. collided with an electric bike when turning at an intersection on Pingxi Road in Longgang District, causing the death of a female rider on the e-bike and an 8-year-old passenger on the bike.

    Accidents related to dump trucks sometimes happen in the city despite the fact that police, construction and urban administration authorities have enforced tough measures on their violations.

    According to the latest regulation, dump truck companies are liable for accidents caused by their trucks and they will be ordered to suspend operation for rectification over fatal accidents.

    Following the four accidents that killed five people during the National Day holiday last year, around 1,000 trucks were suspended for rectification.

    On Oct. 2, a dump truck with Shenzhen Weixiong Aozhan Transportation Co. collided with a private car, which was waiting at a red light in Pingdi Subdistrict, Longgang District. The truck then lost control and crashed into a further five other vehicles, and caused the death of a pedestrian.

    On Oct. 3, a truck with Shenzhen Baohengtong Construction Engineering Co. killed a woman after crashing into her while making a turn on a road in Pingshan.

    The last horrible accident happened when a truck with Shenzhen Jinchuan Earth and Stone Engineering Co. knocked down a road guide post on Shangchuan Road in Bao’an District, which flew into a female pedestrian, who was later pronounced dead.