Fast cars, furious citizens after Beijing crash

BEIJING — In an accident that was more fast and foolish than fast and furious, a Ferrari and a Lamborghini were among the vehicles involved in a high-speed crash inside a Beijing tunnel over the weekend, leaving one person injured.

The accident occurred just hours before the movie Furious 7 debuted in the city, breaking the record for midnight screenings in China.

A report by news portal Sina said at least one of the drivers was a student and that residents have complained about cars racing in the tunnel, which is located near Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium.

Pictures of the accident went viral on the Internet, with angry netizens using Sina Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, demanding to know the identities of the drivers.

“What are their names? Who are their fathers?” one netizen asked in reference to a luxury car crash in Beijing in March 2012 which involved the only son of Ling Jihua, a close ally of former President Hu Jintao.

Mr Ling has been under investigation since December for “disciplinary violations” as part of President Xi Jinping’s drive to battle corruption.

China has been plagued by high-profile car accidents, including a crash last July between a truck carrying a flammable liquid and a bus that killed 38 people.

Road accidents are the third-leading cause of death in China, ahead of most cancers, according to the Lancet medical journal.

However, the number of accidents is falling, according to the government, from 104,000 in 2003 to 60,000 in 2012. That’s from about 300 fatalities a day to less than 200. A study by Chinese and US researchers released in 2011 estimated that there are twice as many accidents as the government reported, according to a story by i24news last year. AGENCIES