72-year-old woman alive after crash sets leaky scooter on fire

72-year-old woman alive after crash sets leaky scooter on fire

2026-07-08

A 72-year-old scooter driver made a miraculous escape from a terrifying traffic accident in New Taipei on Tuesday morning. The scooter crashed into a big truck that was making a right turn. It fell to the ground and caught fire within seconds, likely due to a ruptured fuel tank. People quickly rushed to the rescue to pull the driver out of the blaze, and even the truck driver put out the fire with an extinguisher. The scooter driver sustained burns on many parts of her body, but was fortunately alive.

The lorry is turning right at the light when… Bang! A scooter crashes straight into its side, sending the driver to the ground. Within seconds, the scooter is ablaze. What’s worse is that the driver, a woman in her 70s, is pinned under the vehicle inside the fireball.

A traffic warden and a volunteer rush to the rescue, while the truck driver himself runs over with a large extinguisher to put out the blaze. The foam and smoke engulf the entire road.

Hung Chiao-hsuan
FTV reporter
The accident took place at a main thoroughfare near a popular American retailer. This place is always busy with commuters and truck drivers, making it a crash hotspot.

Member of public
Concerned about crash
I often see accidents here. At rush hour, it’s always jam-packed, and everyone is in a time crunch. There’s tons of cars and motorbikes.

Member of public
Concerned about crash
If you’re driving a car, it could take you half an hour to get over here from the Oriental Science Park. You’re stuck in traffic for 20, 30 minutes.

The crash happened past 7 on Tuesday morning, at Xintaiwu Road in Xizhi District. Police believe the cause was failure to account for the turning radius of the truck, and the scooter’s location in a blind spot. As the truck driver, Mr. Su, turned right onto the highway, his vehicle collided with the scooter rider Ms. Wu, aged 72. The scooter’s fuel tank ruptured and caught fire as it scraped against the ground. Ms. Wu sustained burns on her face, torso and legs, but was conscious when rescued.

Chang Chih-wei
Police officer
Our staff rushed over to pull out the rider, who was trapped under the burning scooter.

Fortunately, thanks to everyone’s quick thinking, the fire was put out, and the driver made it out of the crash alive.

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