Police hit-and-run unit probes Chinese girl's death
Source: Agencies |
July 11, 2013, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AMID the marvel of nearly all aboard Asiana Flight 214 surviving a crash landing, authorities are investigating a tragedy that may have unfolded during the frantic rescue - whether a teenage Chinese girl made it out of the plane only to be run over by a rescue vehicle.
San Francisco police said the department's hit-and-run unit is investigating the death of the student, who might have been killed accidentally on the runway by a fire truck racing to the scene at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday.
"An investigation is under way, and that's all I can say," police spokesman Albie Esparza said.
The department noted its hit-and-run unit and major accidents investigations team would both typically be involved in any such investigations.
The girl, identified as Ye Mengyuan, and a classmate, Wang Linjia, were the crash's two fatalities.
"One of our fire apparatus may have come into contact with one of our two victims," Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said during a news conference called to highlight the heroic efforts of first responders. "I assure you, we are looking closely at this."
Findings of what caused the 17-year-old's death - the crash, the fire truck, or both - might not come for several weeks.
A firefighter first reported to a superior on Saturday that a passenger who was on the ground roughly nine meters from the wreckage and near the escape slide may have been run over as fire crews were shifting from dousing the flames to taking victims to hospitals, officials said.
Police, FBI agents, the coroner and other officials were notified after the firefighter reported his concerns, officials said. The drivers of the first five trucks to respond to the emergency were given drug and alcohol tests, which they passed.
It's not clear why the firefighters thought someone had been run over. Fire department officials said they did not want to provide details because of the ongoing investigation by city police, the county coroner whose office received the body and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Meanwhile, investigators said the pilots of Asiana Flight 214 relied on automated cockpit equipment to control the jetliner's speed as they landed at San Francisco, but realized too late they were flying too low and too slow.
The new details raised potential areas of focus, The Associated Press reported. Was there a mistake made in setting the automatic speed control, did it malfunction or were the pilots not fully aware of what the plane was doing?
San Francisco police said the department's hit-and-run unit is investigating the death of the student, who might have been killed accidentally on the runway by a fire truck racing to the scene at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday.
"An investigation is under way, and that's all I can say," police spokesman Albie Esparza said.
The department noted its hit-and-run unit and major accidents investigations team would both typically be involved in any such investigations.
The girl, identified as Ye Mengyuan, and a classmate, Wang Linjia, were the crash's two fatalities.
"One of our fire apparatus may have come into contact with one of our two victims," Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said during a news conference called to highlight the heroic efforts of first responders. "I assure you, we are looking closely at this."
Findings of what caused the 17-year-old's death - the crash, the fire truck, or both - might not come for several weeks.
A firefighter first reported to a superior on Saturday that a passenger who was on the ground roughly nine meters from the wreckage and near the escape slide may have been run over as fire crews were shifting from dousing the flames to taking victims to hospitals, officials said.
Police, FBI agents, the coroner and other officials were notified after the firefighter reported his concerns, officials said. The drivers of the first five trucks to respond to the emergency were given drug and alcohol tests, which they passed.
It's not clear why the firefighters thought someone had been run over. Fire department officials said they did not want to provide details because of the ongoing investigation by city police, the county coroner whose office received the body and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Meanwhile, investigators said the pilots of Asiana Flight 214 relied on automated cockpit equipment to control the jetliner's speed as they landed at San Francisco, but realized too late they were flying too low and too slow.
The new details raised potential areas of focus, The Associated Press reported. Was there a mistake made in setting the automatic speed control, did it malfunction or were the pilots not fully aware of what the plane was doing?
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
