A taxi crashed into the back of a car in Estrada da Vitória (得勝馬路) yesterday evening, slightly injuring the five passengers in the taxi, the authorities said.
The five passengers included three boys two aged two and one aged three.
According to statements by the Fire Services Bureau (CB) and the Public Security Police (PSP), the accident occurred at around 6:30 p.m. yesterday outside the Chan Sui Ki Perpetual Help College (陳瑞祺永援中學).
The three local children comprise a three-year-old boy and two two-year old boys. The other two injured people are a 30-year-old local woman and a 28-year-old woman from the mainland, according to the CB statement.
The female mainlander sustained slight contusions on her right knee, while the local woman told paramedics that she felt dizzy.
The three-year-old boy sustained slight contusions on his head. Concerning the two two-year-old boys, their family members told paramedics that they both “felt unwell”, the CB statement said.
All of them were taken to the private Kiang Wu Hospital. There were no updates about their conditions as of late last night.
Neither of the drivers were injured.
Cabbie fails breathalyser
According to the PSP statement, the cabbie failed a breathalyser test which showed that his alcohol concentration was 0.63 grammes of alcohol per litre of blood.
According to the Road Traffic Law, drunk driving refers to an alcohol concentration equalling or exceeding 1.2 grammes of alcohol per litre of blood. Offenders face a prison term of up to one year and are banned from driving for between one and three years.
According to the law, a person will also be fined when driving under the influence of alcohol, which refers to an alcohol concentration equalling or exceeding 0.5 grammes of alcohol per litre of blood.
If the alcohol concentration is between 0.5 grammes and 0.8 grammes of alcohol per litre of blood, the offending driver is fined between 2,000 patacas and 10,000 patacas, according to the law.
If the alcohol concentration is between 0.8 grammes and 1.2 grammes of alcohol per litre of blood, the offending driver is fined between 6,000 patacas and 30,000 patacas and is banned from driving for between two months and six months.
Yesterday’s PSP statement said that the cabbie will be fined for driving under the influence of alcohol.
The PSP statement also said that the police have provisionally concluded that the cabbie failed to brake in time after he tailgated the car, i.e., following the vehicle in front too closely.
The police said they are continuing their investigation so as to confirm the exact cause of the collision.
