A terrible situation happened in Zhuhai yesterday.
A car driven by a man rushed into a sports centre , caused 35 death, 43 severely injured and more than 100 mildly injured. This severe accident had shocked the Party Central Committee, president Xi has instructed that the department of judgement should deliver a judgment quickly and heavily.
This was on UK news, earlier, actually. Details sketchy.
I think it was also said that the driver was 65 (if I heard correctly), as another detail. It didn't suggest this, but older drivers (not that 65 is old) have been known to hit the wrong controls at the wrong time and there was a sad case of car crashing into a London school's outdoor play area not long ago, and the Glasgow bin-lorry incident of a few years back was brought back into the news again, recently, for reasons I can't now remember. But, then again, we have had deliberately weaponised cars as well.
There was a recent case quite close to me of an ex-policeman crashing into a Scottish funeral home in order to try to target someone (ex-wife?), for which I think he's now convicted of attempted murder. And the death of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville is just the last name I can remember, with there being several other cases since, that made the world news-wires from out of the US. And I don't know how the investigation into the recent Israeli bus-stop incident went (or is going), to determine what happened there.
But, pure tragic accident
or deliberate crime, 35 deaths (and the rest, especially as those hospitalised may still not be out of danger) is definitely at the high end, especially in any event that it actually
wasn't deliberate. But the news may know far more now, especially more locally, than when it popped up in my ears an hour or three ago.
How to legislate (or enforce) against such things is tricky, this side of 100% perfect and unhackable driverless vehicle use. After just such an attack attempt on a UK airport, some years ago (and amongst various other incidents, accidents and ram-raiding of shops having added to the perceived need), there was a big programme in the UK of setting up strong bollards and/or semi-fixed concrete partitioning blocks at the boundaries of prominant pedestrianised areas and across buildings' glass fronts. (Although, from that actual incident, it seemed that the most effective counter-measure might be to have Glaswegian staff members on hand, everywhere... Even setting yourself on fire, isn't going to stop a Paisley baggage-handler from tackling you!) Some of the 'subtle but sturdy' open-area architectural street-furniture choices can actually enhance the look of a place, without looking at all like Czech Hedgehogs or Dragon's Teeth, and can often include seating and/or decorative planting.
RIP for the victims.
I'll echo that. Whatever the cause turns out to be, and whether/however it might even have been mitigated.