A horrific motor vehicle accident in China this Friday sadly claimed the lives of three individuals, one being a young child. Cell phone video footage captured the accident moments after it happened, showing that a minivan had slammed into the back of what appeared to be an oil tank truck. Video footage shows the accident had occurred on a busy highway, where rescue officials and good samaritan citizens had attempted to free the passengers from the vehicle, which at the time was engulfed in flames.
Reports stated that the accident happened during the daytime on a main highway in Yungcheng, which is located in northern China. The minivan that crashed into the oil tanker appeared to be completely totaled, with enormous flames burning up the front section of the vehicle. A firefighter and civilian can be seen in cell phone video footage breaking the rear passenger side window, desperately trying to reach into the vehicle to help the passengers.
Inside the vehicle, trapped, were a two-year-old child, his father, and his uncle. All three individuals sadly lost their lives. Local authorities claimed that the vehicle was traveling at 115 km, equal to about 71 miles per hour. Police have stated that they are currently investigating the accident as well as the manufacturing of the vehicle that crashed.
The vehicle in question was a brand-new Huawei Aito M7, under the newly manufactured Aito automotive company, launched in 2022. The M7 model itself is an electric vehicle that comes with automatic driving features, designed to allow drivers to navigate efficiently through busy urban motorways without reliance on a GPS.
The mother of the two-year-old victim voiced her concerns that she believes that the automatic breaking system of the vehicle malfunctioned during the car’s self-driving mode. In a statement, the automotive company released data on the car involved in the accident, claiming the airbags had deployed properly and battery readings came back normal.
