Chinese court rules against family of hit-and-run driver

SHIJIAZHUANG -- A court in North China's Hebei province Tuesday dismissed a suit brought by the family of a hit-and-run driver.

Zhu Zhenbiao witnessed Zhang Yonghuan hit a pedestrian with his car and drive off. Zhu pursued Zhang who was then killed by a train as he attempted to drive across the tracks.

According to the Luannan County court of Tangshan, there was no causal relationship between Zhu's actions and Zhang's death.

The behavior of the defendant was "lawful" and in the public interest, according to the court.

The plaintiff's family sued Zhu for more than 600,000 yuan (about $95,000) in November and have said that they will appeal against the ruling.

It is the second ruling on safeguarding public interest in China within a month.

On January 23, a court in Central China's Henan province dismissed a suit filed by the family of a smoker who died of a heart attack after an argument with a man who asked him to stop smoking in a lift.