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TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A tour bus chartered by internet celebrity “Fat Uncle” (肥大叔) collided with a truck in Taichung’s Dajia District, causing the truck to overturn and sending seven people to nearby hospitals on Sunday night (Feb. 18).
“Fat Uncle” (He Yu-hui, 何裕輝), who is popular for online sales of prepared Taiwanese food, was returning from a weekend trip to Hualien with 24 staff members when the accident occurred. Moments after the accident, he began livestreaming.
Both the Taichung City Fire Department and the Miaoli County Fire Department responded by sending 17 personnel and five vehicles to the scene, per TTV.
The 56-year-old driver of the overturned truck was trapped inside his vehicle as rescuers worked to get him out. He was initially diagnosed with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) but regained vital signs being sent to the hospital, though his condition remains critical.
Aboard the tour bus, a 54-year-old tour guide was found unconscious with her left calf fractured. The 42-year-old tour bus driver, along with a 35-year-old passenger, and two children around eight years of age, were all sent to the hospital with slight injuries.
During Fat Uncle’s livestream, he described the tour bus driver applying an emergency brake for three seconds, though it had little effect as the truck was driving on the wrong side of the road and the two vehicles experienced a head-on collision. He also alleged that the truck driver had been drinking due to the strong smell of alcohol coming from the overturned vehicle.
Police have not indicated whether either driver was under the influence of alcohol. Authorities are further investigating to see what caused the accident.
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