A scooter rider from Taiwan is in a coma after triggering a pile-up involving at least 10 vehicles on a freeway in New Taipei City.
Local media reports that the 43-year-old rider caught the attention of the authorities for riding on the large freeway where such small scooters are not allowed. Dashcam footage taken from a police car shows officers repeatedly asking the man to pull over, but he refused and can be seen weaving across multiple lanes and at one stage trying to overtake the police car.
For unknown reasons, the rider of the scooter suddenly swerved to the right-most lane of the highway and decelerated rapidly. He was knocked off the scooter after being hit by a small pickup truck – and then things escalated quickly.
Shortly after the police officers pulled over and ran to the scene to warn traffic of the incident, a fast-moving twin-trailer truck in the right lane slammed into the rear of a large tour bus, triggering a horrific pile-up. The force of the impact sent the tour bus into a silver minivan and a bright yellow hatchback. The large truck continued to slide uncontrollably down the road for several hundred feet before coming to a stop.