Industrial park ordered to pay for drunk driver’s death
Source:Global Times Published: 2013-1-10 23:48:01
A district court has ordered an industrial park to pay about 140,000 yuan ($22,584) in compensation to the family of an Anhui Province man who died after crashing his motorcycle into road dividers on the park's property, Baoshan District People's Court said Thursday.
The man, surnamed Chen, drove onto the industrial park's private roadway in Baoshan district on February 20, 2011. He was driving a second-hand motorcycle without a license while under the influence of alcohol, according to a court press release. He died at the scene.
In June 2011, Chen's parents, wife and daughter sued the industrial park for 1 million yuan, demanding that it take partial responsibility for their relative's death.
In court, the industrial park's lawyers argued that it bore no responsibility for Chen's death because he was not supposed to be driving on the road, which was closed to the public. Furthermore, the road's dividers were painted with red and white warning marks and the road was well lit. They also pointed out that Chen was riding the motorcycle without a helmet.
The court heard the case several times, eventually ruling that the industrial park was 15 percent responsible for Chen's death because its road was accessible to the public and the dividers posed a safety risk even though they were well-marked.