Chinese woman, 49, killed by drunk driver, sister investigates case for 2 years to seek justice

A 49-year-old woman was killed in 2024 after being reportedly hit by two vehicles within eight seconds.

She was fatally dragged along the road by the second vehicle for about 5.9 km in Shaanxi, China.

Five individuals were charged with homicide in connection with the incident, and the case saw development after the woman’s sister apparently conducted her own investigations, Sohu and The Paper reported.

Drinking

According to the prosecution, on Apr. 29, 2024, the five of them gathered to drink.

At about 8:40pm, the victim was walking when one of the accused struck her.

The accused apparently pulled over and checked on the victim before he contacted the police.

Approximately eight seconds later, another car, carrying four of the accused, allegedly ran over Xue’s body.

The driver of the second vehicle was apparently intoxicated and speeding at the time of the incident.

After Xue was run over, the driver of the second vehicle reportedly said that he might have run over what “seems to be a person” and slowed down with the intention to pull over.

However, another accused, who was a passenger in the same vehicle, told him, “Don’t stop, hurry up and go”.

They carried on their way, dragging Xue’s body under the vehicle’s chassis, until they reached a tunnel.

Two of the accused purportedly lowered the vehicle’s sun visors and removed the dashcam memory card and power source.

They also allegedly burned the dashcam memory cards.

Sister

The victim’s younger sister, identified as Xue Huanli (transliterated), learned about the incident 12 hours after it occurred.

The sisters apparently taught at the same school located in the province.

On Apr. 30, Hanli saw her sister's remains at a funeral home and broke down.

Wrecked with grief, Hanli then took two months' leave to investigate the incident, reportedly gathering about 100,000 case files.

“Many kind people have provided us with important clues. The relevant departments have also attached great importance to our case, overcome many obstacles, and helped me advance the case.” She said.

The case was initially not being trialled as intentional homicide, but that has changed, in part, due to the sister's efforts.

Settlement

According to Hanli, the accused attempted to reach a private settlement of 700,000 yuan (S$133,429.73).

However, Hanli's family refused, stating that “the person is gone”.

“What use is the money? We won’t take a single cent.” She said

“We request that the court conduct a fair trial and impose severe punishment according to law.” She added.