The June 23 Huizhou Shuttle Bus Scraping and Collision Incident, also known as the June 23 Huizhou Major Traffic Accident, refers to a series of traffic offenses that occurred on June 23, 2009, in Huicheng District, Huizhou, Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China. The incidents included one fatal traffic offense. Between 18:31 and 18:38 that day, Li Guoqing, the driver of Route 889 operated by Huizhou Chengtong Transportation Co., Ltd., drove a Route 889 bus with the license plate “Yue L·36217” along the route’s normal operating path and collided with vehicles along the way. The incident caused 4 deaths, 11 injuries, damage to 28 motor vehicles and 2 non-motor vehicles, and economic losses of more than RMB 560,000. Huizhou police intercepted the vehicle involved at 18:38 that day and arrested the driver.曾兴华; 杨毅、曾斌戈. 惠州市发生一起公交车连续碰刮汽车事件. Two days after the incident, at 17:00 on June 25, the driver was formally approved for arrest by the Huizhou procuratorial authorities.
Background
Driver Involved The driver involved, Li Guoqing, was male, born on April 27, 1963, and was from Laohekou, Hubei Province. He obtained his motor vehicle driver’s license on August 30, 1996, and drove buses in Hubei until 2000. In 2001, during a fight with another person, he was struck on the head with a brick, resulting in a concussion. Afterward, he was involved in a dispute with another person over borrowing a vehicle and injured the borrower with a knife.
On May 12, 2008, Li Guoqing joined Huizhou Yuntong Industrial Co., Ltd. as a driver on Route 889. On July 23 of the same year, following a change in the operating rights of Route 889, he transferred to Huizhou Chengtong Transportation Co., Ltd., and renewed his contract in May 2009. During his first contract period with Yuntong and Chengtong, he had seven traffic violation records, including four cases of speeding, one case of overloading, one case of violating a traffic prohibition sign, and one case of violating traffic signals. He also had three accident records, including two ordinary traffic accidents and one incident in which he damaged parts of a fuel dispenser. Nevertheless, Chengtong agreed to renew his contract after the first contract period expired.
Other employees of Chengtong, when interviewed by the media, said that Li was introverted, bad-tempered, had poor relationships with colleagues, and was often the subject of passenger complaints. Before the incident, he had taken 11 days of leave from Chengtong and later extended the leave by another week. He did not return to Huizhou for work until June 21, 2009. Some employees believed that something had happened in his family, which had affected him emotionally.何运平、匡湘鄂、古优裕、廖桂旭、任己章、徐焕棠、逯延勐; 倪阔、王瑜; 杨少东、甘军. 近九成受访司机未获心理辅导.
On June 22, 2009, Li Guoqing again requested several days of leave from the bus fleet due to physical discomfort, and the request was approved. However, at around 16:30 on the day of the incident, the fleet captain called Li and asked him to substitute for another driver. Li refused. The fleet captain later called Li again and required him to take over the shift. Li reluctantly agreed, brought all the required work documents, and went to Huizhou Railway Station Square to wait. It was not until around 18:24 that the vehicle he was supposed to drive, namely the vehicle involved in the incident, entered the station.
The dispatcher on duty said that, while waiting, Li “squatted on the ground, held his head with both hands, and remained silent.” He did not respond to greetings. The dispatcher also stated that Li’s mental state at the time did not meet the company’s conditions for allowing a driver to operate a vehicle. However, other colleagues all believed that Li was not scheduled to work that day, so they did not pay attention. After the original driver of the vehicle involved got off the bus, Li directly boarded the vehicle and drove the empty bus away. Some media reports, however, quoted the dispatcher on duty as saying that after Li Guoqing drove the vehicle about 30 meters, he asked the conductor assigned to the vehicle to get off. After the conductor got off, Li drove the empty bus out of the station.
Bus Route Involved The bus route involved was Route 889, operated by Huizhou Chengtong Transportation Co., Ltd. It is now Route 208, operated by Huizhou Dongjiang Public Bus Transportation Co., Ltd. The route ran from Huizhou Railway Station to Tangxia Village in Xinxu. The route had previously been operated by Huizhou Yuntong Industrial Co., Ltd. On July 23, 2008, Yuntong transferred the route to the newly established Chengtong company for operation.
Before the incident, several internet users had posted on local forums complaining about the poor service quality of the route. One user commented in a reply that “a major accident is bound to happen on this route sooner or later”.
Course of Events The following table records the sequence of the incident in chronological order:
After receiving 110 emergency calls from members of the public, the Huizhou Public Security Bureau immediately deployed traffic patrol police along the route to intercept the vehicle involved. After the first accident occurred, a patrol officer attempted to intercept the vehicle by riding a police motorcycle, but was unsuccessful.
After the final accident mentioned above, Li Guoqing first got out of the bus to check the situation, then reversed the vehicle and drove away. Shortly afterward, when the bus nearly collided with a taxi at the Tianyuan Road intersection, its engine stalled. Police officers then rushed onto the bus involved in the incident and subdued Li Guoqing.
Subsequently, the police closed the relevant section of Ehu Road and reopened it at 20:30 that evening.
Aftermath Time Location Description 18:31 Intersection of Huizhou Avenue and Sanxin North Road The bus collided with a silver sedan and a blue sedan. The silver sedan was pushed several hundred metres, while the blue sedan was forced into the opposite lane and struck a taxi. An agricultural vehicle also overturned. Four people were injured. The bus sideswiped several other vehicles while continuing along the route. 18:33 Outside the Huizhou Municipal Government, Yunshan West Road The bus collided with a minivan travelling in the same direction before sideswiping an oncoming sedan. No casualties were reported. 18:34 Outside the Jiangbei Branch of Liri Shopping Plaza The bus struck two bicycles, both of which were almost completely crushed. Two cyclists were injured. 18:35 Northern approach to Huizhou Bridge The bus drove into the opposite lane and collided with a black sedan. No casualties were reported. 18:36 Huizhou Bridge The bus struck a Guangzhou-registered sedan twice. The sedan spun approximately 720 degrees, mounted the sidewalk, and damaged the bridge railing. No one was injured.18:37 Xiajiao South Road / Ehu Road The bus collided with a sedan waiting at a traffic light, causing secondary collisions with another sedan and a bicycle. It then struck an oncoming van. Five people were injured, including the cyclist and a pregnant woman. Near the PLA Unit 75200 The bus collided with two oncoming sedans and a truck, leaving the three vehicles wedged together. No casualties were reported. 18:38 Intersection of Ehu Road and Chengqu Government Road The bus drove into the opposite lane and collided with taxi "粤L·A8480". The taxi was then rear-ended by a truck and crushed between a sedan and two trucks. Four occupants of the taxi, including the driver, died at the scene.
Official Response After the incident, Huang Yebin, secretary of the Huizhou Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and Li Ruqiu, mayor of the Huizhou Municipal People’s Government, issued instructions. Li Dawen, a member of the Standing Committee of the CCP Huizhou Municipal Committee, secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the CCP Huizhou Municipal Committee, and director of the Huizhou Public Security Bureau, together with Lin Tianhao, vice mayor of the Huizhou Municipal People’s Government, quickly organized and directed the rescue of the injured and the management of traffic. They immediately convened leaders from the Huizhou Public Security Bureau, the municipal transportation bureau, the CCP Huicheng District Committee of Huizhou, and the Huicheng District People’s Government to study and arrange follow-up handling and investigation work. A press conference was also held to brief the public on the incident. After the press conference, Li Dawen and Lin Tianhao visited the injured in hospital on behalf of the CCP Huizhou Municipal Committee and the Huizhou Municipal Government.
Liang Weifa, a member of the Standing Committee of the CCP Guangdong Provincial Committee, secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the CCP Guangdong Provincial Committee, and director of the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, as well as Luo Juan, executive deputy director of the department, successively issued instructions. They required the public security authorities to ascertain the basic facts of the case as soon as possible, work with relevant departments to properly handle follow-up matters, and promptly release information to the public. Later, Deng Zhengyu, deputy director of the Traffic Management Bureau of the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, and Ou Guisheng, a criminal investigation expert from the Criminal Investigation Bureau, led a team to Huizhou overnight to guide the investigation.
On the day after the incident, the Traffic Police Detachment of the Huizhou Public Security Bureau deployed a large number of additional officers to major intersections along the affected road section. Several traffic assistants were also assigned to smaller intersections along the route to help direct traffic.
News Releases
First and Second Press Conferences At 22:00 on the night of the incident, the Huizhou Public Security Bureau held its first press conference, where it reported the basic facts of the incident. The press conference was chaired by the bureau’s deputy director in charge of the Traffic Police Detachment.
At 15:00 on June 24, the day after the incident, the Huizhou Public Security Bureau held its second press conference. The conference was chaired by Cai Rongyang, the bureau’s deputy director in charge of the Criminal Police Detachment. It reported the preliminary investigation results and explained several points of controversy. According to the briefing, the driver involved, Li Guoqing, had been on sick leave when he was asked by the fleet captain to return to work and substitute for another driver. After collecting all the required work documents, Li waited at Huizhou Railway Station Square for more than an hour. The longer he waited, the angrier he became. At around 18:24, the vehicle involved finally entered the station. After the vehicle arrived, Li, in a state of rage, directly drove it away, proceeded along the normal operating route of Route 889, and caused the incident.