WAN CHAI, Hong Kong — A shocking roadside scene played out in the pouring rain on busy Queen’s Road East on Wednesday morning when a Filipino woman was struck by a taxi after ignoring pedestrian signals.
Footage of the incident quickly spread online, showing the woman recklessly dashing across the street directly into the path of an oncoming taxi with a green light. The cab driver had little time to react before violently colliding with the jaywalking pedestrian around 11 a.m. in Wan Chai.
“She just walked right out, I couldn’t stop in time,” said the shaken 75-year-old taxi driver, surnamed Luk, who remained at the scene to cooperate with police. “The lights were green for me, but she didn’t even look.”
In the dramatic video recorded from inside the taxi’s passenger cabin, the woman can be seen being struck down by the vehicle as a police car with sirens blaring happens to be passing in the opposite lane. A police officer immediately jumped out to attend to the injured woman.
“Did you see that? She walked right into the road,” the taxi passenger can be heard exclaiming in shock after witnessing the impact. As rain lashes the taxi’s windshield, the driver curses in Cantonese knowing police had witnessed the accident.
The 59-year-old Filipino woman, whose name was not released, suffered back injuries but remained conscious. She was rushed to nearby Ruttonjee Hospital for treatment.
While the circumstances are still under investigation, video evidence indicates the pedestrian signal was indeed red for the woman when she attempted her reckless road crossing. Authorities say incidents of jaywalking remain a persistent problem in the densely populated territory despite enhanced road safety campaigns.
“The rules are there to protect everyone,” traffic police senior inspector Chan Kwok-kuen said. “One person’s rash decision can ruin many lives in an instant.”
For Hong Kong’s taxi drivers already grappling with rising operating costs and intense traffic conditions, the haunting images serve as a grave reminder of the dangers that can arise at any moment while working the streets of the bustling metropolis.
