During the Chinese New Year period, on the third day of the Lunar New Year (February 19), a family of nearly 20 people in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, were burning offerings to their ancestors on a highway when they were hit by a car speeding by, resulting in multiple casualties.
According to reports from mainland Chinese media, at around 7 p.m. on February 19, Mr. Liu’s family of nearly 20 people was burning offerings to their ancestors on a highway in Yuzhong Town, Yuzhong County, Lanzhou. Some were kneeling to burn the offerings while others stood by, shining bright flashlights to signal passing vehicles to slow down and yield. However, a sedan suddenly crashed into the crowd, causing severe injuries and casualties.
A family member recalled that the accident happened too suddenly, with those present at the scene of the ancestral ritual having no time to evade in just a split second.
The incident resulted in the deaths of two individuals, a woman around 40 years old and a man of 24 years old, who were aunt and nephew, both members of the same family participating in the ceremony. Three seriously injured individuals were rushed to three hospitals for treatment, including a 19-year-old girl in her third year of high school who remains in the intensive care unit. Several other lightly injured individuals are also receiving follow-up treatment in different hospitals.
Mr. Liu stated that roadside rituals are a local custom and that for decades, it has always been done this way since he can remember. It used to be on dirt roads, which later turned into highways, and nothing like this has ever happened before.
Similar incidents have occurred in other places in the past.
On January 8, 2023, around 12:50 a.m., in Taolingle Village on the S517 connecting road in Youlan Town, Nanchang County, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, a heavily overloaded and speeding heavy-duty semi-trailer truck crashed into a procession walking on the road during a funeral. There were approximately 60-100 people at the scene, with some performing roadside rituals and burning offerings. The truck continued forward for over 100 meters after the collision until it hit the front hearse and came to a stop. The accident ultimately led to the deaths of 20 people and injuries to 19 others, including the deceased’s two sons and a daughter-in-law, among other close relatives.
An informant disclosed to Dajiyuan News that the deceased elder at the funeral had passed away from a COVID-19 infection. Due to the high number of elderly deaths from infections daily and the bottleneck at the crematorium, his family chose to hold the funeral early in the morning to avoid long queues at the crematorium.