Free Web NovelChapter 131: Chapter 130 Car Accident Scene_1
July 4, 2011
The high temperature swept across Qindao, exceptionally hot early in the morning.
Mr. Zhao wandered into the office, continuously fanning himself with his hand and positioned himself right under the air conditioner. Seeing Zhou Ning tirelessly tapping on the keyboard in front of the computer, he grinned and asked,
"Tell me, Zhou Xiaozhou, you’d better speak up. Are skinny people more resistant to the heat? How come you never seem to sweat a day in your life? I’m about to stick my tongue out to catch a breeze."
Zhou Ning glanced at him. This guy and Mr. He had moved away from his house, finally providing some peace and quiet for his ears. There hadn’t been any major cases these days, and the guy kept hanging around the inspection department, getting very chummy with Mr. Cui, always calling her ’sister’. It seemed his social butterfly syndrome had worsened.
"Just sit tight in the office and enjoy the air conditioning. What’s there to complain about? Would you be happier at a crime scene?"
Mr. Zhao raised his hands and made a stopping gesture, moving quickly to Zhou Ning’s side, attempting to cover Zhou Ning’s mouth.
"Cut the chatter. Go deliver this appraisal report."
Mr. Zhao glanced at it and pushed the report in front of Sun Gaotie.
"You go, kid. I’m really feeling the heat. The more I try to control my weight, the more it soars. I break into a sweat like a flood the moment I move."
Sun Gaotie stood up; he didn’t say much, grabbed the report, and left.
"Where have you moved to, Mr. Zhao?"
Mr. Zhao approached, smiling.
"Why? Are you having trouble sleeping without me, Zhou Xiaozhou? Hahaha, rest assured, I’ll take care of driving you around before you pick up your car. I won’t let you take the bus."
Seeing Mr. Zhao avoid the subject, Zhou Ning didn’t ask further. After all, Mr. Zhao must have had an unusual family background to be taken care of so well by Xu Da. Since he didn’t want to talk about it, Zhou Ning didn’t press the issue.
Just as Sun Gaotie re-entered the room, the phone on the desk rang. Mr. Zhao quickly grabbed it.
"Forensic Department, Team Two."
"Is Dr. Zhou or Mr. Zhao there?"
"Mr. Pang, please hold on a second."
Mr. Zhao hurriedly handed the phone to Zhou Ning, mouthing that it was Mr. Pang on the line; Zhou Ning quickly picked up the receiver.
"Hello Mr. Pang."
"Dr. Zhou, this is Pang Xiaoyi. The command center has informed us that at 7:55 in Jingkou District at the intersection of Lijiang West Road and Jiangshan South Road, there was a major car accident involving seven vehicles piling up. The scene is very grim, with two dead and six seriously injured. I’m on my way from Liuhe District, could you bring someone and join me? Everyone else is either out at a scene or tied up with cases, I can’t find anyone else."
Mr. Pang spoke hurriedly. Zhou Ning had been there long enough to know a bit about Mr. Pang. He nearly never asked for Zhou Ning on cases involving traffic. Zhou Ning knew that really meant no one else was available.
"No problem, I’m on my way now."
Hearing this, Mr. Zhao had already grabbed the investigation box, patting the dazed Sun Gaotie on the shoulder.
"We’ve got work, buddy! Snap out of it, let’s get moving!"
Sun Gaotie finally came to his senses, took the investigation box from him, and hurried out the door.
The moment they got into the car, Mr. Zhao slammed on the gas and shot off.
Jingkou District to the downtown area is like the distance between the thumb and forefinger when you make a fist with an empty palm—very close in a straight line. However, the bridge crossing the sea wasn’t completed yet. They could either take a detour on the Huanwan Expressway or go through the tunnel. However, the traffic station kept announcing that a large truck had overturned at the tunnel entrance, requesting all vehicles reroute.
So, they had no choice but to take the Huanwan Expressway, passing through Qidong District on the way.
At 9:24 Mr. Zhao had already turned onto Jiangshan South Road. The traffic ahead was severely congested. Mr. Zhao put on the police light cap, and an officer up ahead, upon seeing this, ran over. Zhou Ning rolled down the window and held up his badge.
"I’m a forensic doctor. We just received notice to come and handle the accident site of the traffic collision. Is it up ahead?"
The officer took a quick look at the badge and saluted promptly.
"It’s right up front. I’ll clear the jam for you, just wait and follow me."
"Thanks, buddy!"
Mr. Zhao’s mouth was always on cue. The young officer kept clearing the vehicles on both sides, allowing them to drive on the wrong side of the road straight to the site. Getting out of the car, Zhou Ning looked up.
Not far from the side of the road, a lamppost was missing, and many cars were twisted and tangled together, some even emitting smoke. However, only their silhouettes were visible; the details were completely obscured by the dense fog.
This thick fog hovered around one meter above the ground, densely covering the south side of Lijiang West Road, while the other side was entirely clear, not even dispersing at this time of the day.
"Odd indeed, there’s no fog on the expressway. The visibility was very high all along the way; how can there be such heavy fog here?"
"This is advection fog. A low sea surface temperature with a higher temperature above, trapping the fog, forms along the coastline. It usually appears and dissipates suddenly, without warning, and indeed, it’s prone to cause traffic accidents. It’s also a characteristic weather phenomenon of Qindao."
As if to validate Zhou Ning’s words, the fog dissipated in an instant, and the entire accident scene was revealed. Seeing the complete accident scene, Zhou Ning couldn’t help but inhale sharply.
Mr. Zhao shuddered, and the flesh on his face trembled along with it.
"Damn, isn’t this too horrifying?"
Zhou Ning quickly walked over. Mr. Pang had already arrived with his team and hurriedly got up and waved when he saw Zhou Ning.
"You guys are fast; we’ve just arrived too. The injured have been sent to the hospital. Someone from the cars in the back is in bad shape, and the drivers in the two front cars are dead. Both the cars and the people are completely deformed from being crushed. I was just worrying about how to pry them apart."
"Let’s have a look first. Under normal circumstances, Mr. Pang, how are the deaths handled in traffic accidents?"
"Typically, the bodies are sent for an autopsy, and after the vehicles are inspected, they are taken to a designated parking lot by the traffic police. But this case is special. I think we need to separate the front two cars from the ones behind and then transport them as a whole to the technical department’s backyard for separation, because they can’t be disentangled here." freēwebnovel.com
Zhou Ning followed Mr. Pang, talking as they walked towards the front of the scene.
The firefighters were also present, struggling to separate the vehicles, but there were cars piled on top of each other and others still smoking. The cars at the very front had all crashed into one unit, creating a chaotic scene.
At the forefront, a lamppost was missing. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that a black sedan, like putty, had been squashed and wrapped around the entire lamppost. The upper half of the lamppost was broken and had pierced the driver’s seat.
The white SUV behind it had both its front and rear ends missing, enveloping the rear of the black sedan. The black sedan was reduced to less than one-fifth of its original body length, and the white SUV was left with only half of its original length.
All the car windows were shattered. The white SUV’s driver had become one with the steering wheel, embedded in the dashboard, and blood was everywhere inside the cabin.
Mr. Pang’s forensic investigators had started taking photos. Mr. Zhao leaned over to help place placards and join in the investigation. Zhou Ning peeked inside and noticed that the driver of the white SUV hadn’t worn a seatbelt, and the airbags had not deployed.
Looking around, Zhou Ning couldn’t make out the makes of the front two cars. He waved at Mr. Zhao, who ran back over.
"What’s up?"
"Can’t see the badges, do you know what cars the front two are?"
Mr. Zhao quickly ran over, with Mr. Pang also coming closer. They both shook their heads after looking for a long time.
"Traffic police have come to look as well, but they could only guess roughly. Both the front and back ends are smashed, and the steering wheels are unrecognizable. Is it not difficult to make them see this?"
Mr. Zhao glanced at it and said with certainty:
"The white one in the back is a 2010 Jeep Robin Hood. Look at the roof and the parts of the dashboard that are still visible; it must be a top-of-the-line model. As for the black car in front, it’s a 2005 Sonata."
Mr. Pang was stunned, while Zhou Ning nodded, looking at Mr. Pang.
"He’s best at this, identifying the make from a car’s rear end or just a part of it."
Mr. Pang’s face lit up with interest, and he patted Mr. Zhao’s shoulder.
"Nice one, Mr. Zhao. Well, we’ve looked at the scene enough now. We just wait for the firefighters to separate the vehicles. These two need to be taken back for further examination to figure out how to remove the bodies. It’s the first time this year we’ve encountered such a severe traffic accident. But looking at this, the bodies are seriously damaged; I wonder if that software could simulate the accident process?"
Zhou Ning nodded. The accident was indeed very serious. Judging by the impact force, both cars were definitely not driving slowly, especially with the sudden fog appearing. Under such conditions, the accident may have occurred too fast for any reaction.
"Let the lab staff try. However, we have to transport them as a whole back for scanning; that’s the only way we can analyze. Does traffic police have any surveillance footage?"
Asking this question, Zhou Ning had little hope. With such heavy fog that the ground was invisible, it was likely difficult to see anything on the footage.
"We pulled up the surveillance. It can only show that the accident didn’t happen at the same time. There’s an interval of about ten minutes between them. However, we can’t see the details; it’s all just a white blur."
Zhou Ning nodded, understanding that Mr. Pang, being specialized in handling traffic accidents, held authoritative opinions. Today, he was mainly there to assist and would heed directions, ready to help if needed.
As they spoke, the firefighters had managed to pull apart the stacked cars, and the grating noise of metal made everyone’s hair stand on end. Now, only the car behind the white Jeep was left. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Zhou Ning and the others moved aside, and he walked directly to the broken lamppost to look into the black Sonata. The deceased’s head was severely deformed, completely folded and crushed together with the steering wheel, headrest, and upper limbs. However, a streak of blood behind the ear caught his attention.
"Mr. Zhao, come take a picture!"
