Four killed in Lu'an car crash

Four people were killed during a traffic accident that involved three vehicles in Lu'an, Anhui province, on Thursday, local authorities said.

The Anhui Provincial Department of Emergency Management said in a statement that at about 4:13 am, a semi-trailer truck from Shandong province scratched another truck in its front when the two were traveling on the G35 Jinan-Guangzhou Expressway. Right after that, the Shandong truck was rear-ended by a small sedan.

Two people from the sedan died on site, and another two later died due to their injuries despite rescue efforts, according to a statement from the emergency management department of Anhui province.

Preliminary investigations showed that the small sedan departed about 12 hours ago from Shenzhen, Guangdong province, a city around 1,200 kilometers away, and the Shandong truck left Shaoguan, Guangdong, about 1,000 kilometers away from the crash site, about 8 hours ago.

Both the Shandong truck and the small sedan were suspected of fatigue driving, with the sedan also being suspected of speeding. Further investigation into the accident is underway, the statement said.

The police reminded citizens that people are more prone to develop fatigue during the summer heat. Drivers are advised to arrange their driving schedules more reasonably to avoid driving while fatigued.