China Toddler Run Over Twice: Two Men Responsible Formally Arrested
Two drivers suspected of running over a Chinese toddler, who later died of her injuries, have been arrested after a police investigation.
News outlets in China are reporting the city of Foshan has completed their initial investigation and requested the two men be formally arrested.
A formal arrest almost always leads to a trial.
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Citizens of China have also urged the government to put in place a "Good Samaritan Law" to punish passerby who fail to help people in need.
Eighteen people walked, cycled, or drove by the two-year-old girl, Yue Yue, as she lay wounded in a busy market.
Last week, it was reported that the toddler was showing signs of a recovery but Wednesday she was said to be "in a deep coma and clinically brain dead" by doctors.
Yue Yue finally died of brain failure Friday morning in a Guangdong hospital, Chinese media reported.
The girl's father received more than 270,000 yuan ($42,280) to help pay for her medical care. Donations were received from all around the world.
The incident was caught on camera and sparked an international furor over the status of China's society.
Many people are using the accident to point out all that is wrong with modern China.
A local Communist party chief said China needs to "take active and effective steps to raise the moral standards of the entire society," in a meeting with province officials.
Wang Yang, a top official, said that the incident should be a "wake up" call for Chinese society.
"We should look into the ugliness in ourselves with a dagger of conscience and bite the soul-searching bullet," he said.
In the video that sparked global rage, Chen Xianmei, 58, moves the baby to safety, becoming an instant symbol of modest civility and has now been touted as one of the few true Good Samaritans left in China.
Xianmei was offered $3,135 from two government offices in Guangdong province where the hit-and-run occurred.
“I didn’t think of anything at the time,” Xianmei said in news reports last week. “I just wanted to save the girl.”
A video of the incident is below:
