12-Year-Old Girls Killed After Driver Runs Red Light in Taiwan

A car plowed through pedestrians at an intersection in Taiwan, killing three people including two 12-year-old girls, according to media reports. The 78-year-old driver was in a coma after the Monday afternoon crash, the AP reports. Police said the driver went through the intersection when the traffic lights were red in all directions, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported. The car sideswiped three scooters and a bicycle and kept going until running into a concrete divider in the middle of a street.

The accident happened in New Taipei, the sprawling area in northern Taiwan that surrounds Taipei, the capital. Video posted online by the Central News Agency shows debris strewn in the intersection and people giving CPR to two victims, one behind a red scooter lying on its side. A 40-year-old woman died along with the two students from a nearby junior high school. Twelve other people were injured. They included seven students from the same school and a 5-year-old boy, who was slightly injured, according to statements from the New Taipei government and fire department.

Five people were seriously injured, including the driver. He tested negative for alcohol consumption, the Central News Agency said, citing police. The cause of the crash was under investigation. (More Taiwan stories.)