'Runaway Zhou' was drunk, says lawyer

By Qin Zhongwei (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-25 08:51

A Beijing taxi company claimed it had evidence proving TV star Zhou Jie was drunk when he smashed his Mercedes Benz into a taxi.

The United Crescent Taxi Company lawyer, who only revealed his surname as Li, said yesterday that enough evidence had been gathered to prove Zhou was drunk at the time of the accident.

Li said the evidence will be revealed as long as Zhou appears in court.

"We would like to see him in person and ask several questions to him face-to-face, and then you will know who is right," Li told METRO.

The lawyers of the two sides met in Chaoyang district court on Wednesday, but Zhou, 39, who is suing the taxi company for damages, did not appear.

The accident occurred in the capital's Chaoyang district on early morning of June 2 when Zhou's $100,000 (682,000 yuan) Mercedes Benz R300, bearing no license plates, smashed into a United Crescent taxi.

The cab flipped on its side and the taxi driver and two passengers were injured.

Zhou left the scene and allegedly said he felt sick and went to the hospital.

But Beijing News quoted a witness saying Zhou was the only person in the car and appeared intoxicated.

The actor, who became very famous 10 years ago after staring in popular Qing Dynasty drama Princess Huan Zhu, was dubbed "Runaway Zhou" (Zhou Taotao) by netizens.

Zhou has publicly apologized for speeding and driving without a license plate, but insisted he did not run away from the scene.

He was fined 2,200 yuan and given five days of "administrative detention".

In July, he filed a 200,000 yuan lawsuit against the United Crescent taxi company for compensation for his damaged Benz.

The taxi company then counter-sued asking nearly 100,000 yuan compensation for damages to the taxi. Xie Huisheng, Zhou's former lawyer, said in July that the taxi driver failed to slow down when attempted to turn and the collision caused a "great economic loss" for Zhou Jie.

Zhou's legal team argued that the taxi company, which employed the driver, should take full responsibility.

Zhou's newly hired lawyer said on Wednesday that they still plan to sue the taxi driver and will ask for compensation, according to the Beijing Times.

Zhou's new lawyer told the court that Zhou did not flee after the accident.

A spokesperson for the taxi company, surnamed Yi, declined to comment yesterday.

"Due to the reason that Zhou's lawyer asked for evaluation of the damaged vehicles, it is still a while for the final judicial decision," the lawyer Li said.

Zhou's accident is part of spate of car-crashing celebrities making headlines. On June 25, popular singer Hu Yanbin drove his SUV into a taxi in Shanghai. Three people in the taxi were hurt, but Hu walked away unscathed.

Meanwhile, Beijing police have launched a campaign to crack down drunken driving.