Tainan: Eight members of a Chiayi school baseball team, including seven young players and their coach, were injured in a traffic accident on National Freeway No. 3. The incident occurred near the 337.5-kilometer mark on the northbound section of the freeway and was reported at around 3 p.m., according to Tainan City's Fire Bureau.
According to Focus Taiwan, first responders arrived at the scene to find eight individuals trapped in a severely damaged van. Among those rescued were the driver, who is also the team's coach and was showing signs of losing consciousness, and a 15-year-old student from Min Ho Junior High School in Chiayi County who was unconscious. All eight were subsequently taken to four different hospitals across Tainan for treatment.
Li Mei-hua, the Chiayi County Department of Education chief, confirmed the parents of the injured players have been notified. She visited Chi Mei Hospital's Liouying branch, where four of the injured were treated, and assured that the county government will provide necessary assistance to the affected families. Li emphasized that all schools in Chiayi County have been advised against traveling for sports events or training under adverse weather conditions.
The van involved was one of two used by the school to transport the baseball team back to Chiayi after a friendly game in Kaohsiung. A video clip broadcasted by local media showed the van colliding with an engineering vehicle from behind, flipping mid-air, and then crashing onto the road.
The National Highway Police Bureau stated that the cause of the accident is still under investigation, although initial tests confirmed that the driver had no alcohol in his system. The freeway was reopened at 4:04 p.m. following the incident.