A woman riding an electric bike died after her neck was caught by a cable stretched across a rural road in China’s Henan Province.
The cable had reportedly been put up by a concrete truck driver who had used leftover concrete to repair a section of the road and wanted to stop vehicles from driving over it before it had set.
The incident happened at around 10.45am on 10 Aug in Yifeng Town, Zhumadian.
The 45-year-old woman was riding an electric bike along a downhill stretch of road when she collided with the cable stretched across it.
The impact caused her to fall from the bike.
Source: Qingdao Evening News via Sina
According to Sina, her 16-year-old son was travelling along the same route behind her and later found his mother lying by the roadside with her electric bike beside her.
He said there was blood at the corner of her mouth and she did not respond when he called out to her. He then contacted emergency services, the police, and family members.
Her father subsequently arrived at the scene and took her to a local health centre, where an electrocardiogram showed a flat line.
A forensic report later recorded that she had died at the scene.
Source: Qingdao Evening News via Sina
The forensic examination found multiple injuries, including abrasions and contusions to her neck, jaw, and limbs, fractured ribs, brain injuries, and a ruptured trachea.
Police investigators also found a black cable at the scene. Footage from the investigation showed one end tied to a roadside boundary marker and the other to a utility pole.
A Yifeng Town government staff member said the man responsible worked as a driver at a nearby commercial concrete mixing plant.
After making a delivery, he reportedly had some concrete left in his truck and felt it would be wasteful to dispose of it.
He therefore used the remaining concrete to repair an uneven section of road.
The repaired section was around 6.2 metres long and 2.7 metres wide. Local residents said the area had previously been very uneven, causing electric bikes and electric tricycles to jolt as they passed.
To prevent vehicles from damaging the freshly laid concrete, the driver then stretched a cable across the road.
Source: Canadian News Network
A town government staff member told reporters that the driver had scattered some straw over the cable as a warning but did not put up more obvious safety measures such as warning tripods.
Authorities stressed that the driver had not been part of any road repair team engaged by the government or village committee and had acted on his own initiative.
Following the incident, the town government organised several rounds of mediation between the parties over compensation.
Public security authorities placed the driver under criminal detention on 28 Aug on suspicion of causing death through negligence.
Prosecutors approved his arrest on 11 Sept, and the case subsequently entered judicial proceedings.
The two sides initially failed to agree on compensation and later engaged lawyers to continue negotiations.
However, the victim’s husband told Sina on 20 Sept that they had since reached an agreement after a day of negotiations, with the other party paying compensation that met the family’s demands. He did not disclose the amount.
A Yifeng Town official subsequently said the two families had signed a settlement agreement and that the victim’s family had expressed forgiveness towards the driver.
The criminal case remains subject to judicial proceedings.
Also read: One wooden pole, 84 cameras: China village’s unusual CCTV setup goes viral
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Qingdao Evening News via Sina.