New Taipei: President Lai Ching-te on Tuesday offered his condolences to families of the victims of a car crash in New Taipei on Monday that killed three people and injured 12, while lawmakers held a moment of silence for them at the Legislative Yuan.

According to Focus Taiwan, in an address marking the first anniversary of his administration, Lai expressed his condolences to the families of those killed in the major traffic incident in New Taipei’s Sanxia District. He assured that central government agencies and the local government would work together to provide assistance to the families, investigate the cause of the incident, and implement measures to prevent future tragedies.

Meanwhile, Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) led lawmakers in a one-minute moment of silence at the Legislature on Tuesday to express sympathy for the victims of the tragedy.

The car crash occurred at around 4 p.m. when a car driven by a 78-year-old man surnamed Yu slammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. The incident resulted in the deaths of three people – two junior high school students and a woman in her 40s – and injured 12 others, including the driver of the vehicle, as reported by local authorities. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.