Driver suspected of causing two deaths detained

The driver of a forklift truck has been detained for allegedly causing the deaths of two people in a rear-end accident in south Beijing on Tuesday morning, Beijing traffic police said Thursday.

The accident happened at around 3:00 am when an SUV hit the forklift truck on the Fourth Ring Road in south Beijing. Both the vehicles were heading in the same direction from west to east.

A video footage uploaded online by a witness shows the truck driver making a long phone call on the road side and not helping the two people get out of the car even though smoke was coming out of the vehicle and the witness was shouting at him to help them.

Soon, the SUV was engulfed in flame and when other people rushed to the site with extinguishers, they failed to put out the blaze, and the SUV driver and the passenger died in the car, according to the video clip.

The footage has aroused public debate on whether people should save accident victims or call police first. Law experts said that the country's laws have clarified that saving lives should be given priority.

Beijing traffic police said the driver surnamed Qi, 22, drove the unlicensed forklift truck that was forbidden to run on main roads in urban areas.

The collision caused the fire, and the deaths of two women, Zhang, 31, and Bai, 34.