3 killed, 1 seriously injured in freeway traffic accident

Taipei, Dec. 19 (CNA) Three people died, and one other suffered serious injuries in a car crash involving four vehicles on National Freeway No. 3 Monday night, according to highway police.

The accident occurred at the 246.9-kilometer mark of the freeway's northbound lanes in Zhushan Township of Nantou County, central Taiwan, at around 10 p.m. Monday, highway police said.

An investigation has been launched to determine what happened that caused the deadly car crash, the police said.

According to the initial investigation results, two cars collided on the freeway, resulting in a woman being thrown out of one of the cars before being run over by two vehicles. The woman perished at the scene immediately, freeway police said.

Meanwhile, three people were seriously wounded during the crash, including two in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) condition, freeway police said, adding that the accident had caused traffic jams on the freeway for some time.

According to Nantou's Fire Bureau, ambulances were dispatched to the scene as soon as they were reported of the accident. Upon arrival, one woman was found already dead, while a man around 50 was rushed to Nantou Hospital but was pronounced dead later.

A 4-year-old girl in OHCA condition was declared dead at Chu Shang Show Chwan Hospital, while a woman in her 60s who suffered serious injuries was being treated there, the county bureau said.

Freeway police said they were investigating which cars the three deceased and the injured person were in before the crash, their identities, and their relations to each other.