Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

Video Credit: AsiaWire

A woman has been sentenced to six years in prison after she mistook her accelerator pedal for the brake and fatally mowed down five people in her Mercedes-Benz at over 80 mph.

The Hangzhou Xihu People’s Court in East China’s Zhejiang Province announced the verdict today (15th July), saying it had rejected a plea for leniency from the woman’s lawyers.

The accused driver, surnamed Chen, was arrested on 30th July last year after she had lost control of her black Mercedes-Benz and crashed into numerous vehicles and pedestrians.

Pictures Credit: AsiaWire

The court verdict said Chen had accidentally driven onto a traffic island while attempting a left turn, and that she panicked when trying to rectify the mistake.

Wearing sandals at the time, Chen put her foot hard on the accelerator pedal, believing it to be the brake, and reaches speeds of 132 kph (82 mph) as she crashed through Hangzhou’s Jingzhou Road.

According to police findings, Chen slammed into scooters, cars and a group of more than 10 pedestrians waiting to cross a street before she crashed to a stop against a wall.

The accident killed five people and injured 11 others, with Chen reportedly heard telling paramedics: “We went faster and faster. I couldn’t even find a safe place to crash into.”

The Xihu court announced a six-year prison sentence for Chen for manslaughter despite recognising that she was “remorseful”, and that she had received the “understanding” of the majority of the victims’ families after offering them financial compensation.

The court said Chen’s offences were “especially serious” and had a “negative social impact”. As a result, her lawyer’s plea for leniency and a suspended sentence would not be supported.

It is still unclear whether Chen plans to appeal the verdict.

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