Girl, two, left lying in street after crash dies

Emine Sinmaz12 April 2012

A toddler who was run over by two vans and then ignored by passers-by on a busy street in China died today.

Two-year-old Wang Yue was pronounced dead shortly after midnight with brain injuries and organ failure, a week after the accident.

The plight of the child has led to soul-searching in China and come to symbolise what many see as a decay in public morals after decades of economic growth and rising prosperity.

The accident on October 13 was caught on CCTV footage. It shows Wang Yue walking through the market street in the city of Foshan, in southern Guangdong province.

She is struck by a van and the driver speeds off without checking on her. As she lies bleeding in the middle of the lane, 18 people walk or cycle by and another van runs over her legs.

Doctors at Guangzhou military district general hospital were unable to save her. The episode ignited a national debate about Chinese society and personal responsibility. Comments posted to social media sites said: "We are all passers-by."

Some of those who passed the injured girl have said they did not see her, while others said they were too frightened to help. A rubbish collector who finally moved the toddler to the side of the street was hailed as a national hero.

Some experts said an unwillingness to help others was a consequence of urbanisation, as migrants pour into cities and create neighbourhoods of strangers. Wang Yue's parents were migrant workers.

Psychologist Yao Yue said: "Where you have a lot of high-rise buildings, high population density, then the relationship with neighbours, with each other, is affected."

Guangdong province is debating the introduction of a law to force people to help others in obvious distress. Police detained both drivers on suspicion of causing a traffic accident but charges have not yet been brought.

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