BMW car in news for wrong reasons in China

SHANGHAI - Two separate incidents involving the BMW car have been reported in China. A 16-year-old girl, upset at her parents’ divorce, took her anger out on a stranger’s BMW car, while police arrested a man for running his luxury vehicle over a three-year-old boy four times within 30 seconds.

The first incident happened Monday when the girl attacked the car with a hammer in Xiangtan city in Hunan province, Shanghai Daily reported Tuesday.

Returning to her senses, the girl apologised for her behaviour and phoned her father, who eventually had to pay 30,000 yuan ($4,420) for the damage.

The girl, who has been living with her father, said she can’t stand the fact her parents aren’t together anymore.

In the other incident, the driver of a BMW car was detained after a video footage posted on website sina.com.cn showed that he drove the vehicle back and forth and crushed the child to death in Jiangsu province.

The incident occurred Sep 7 when the boy Le Le (name changed) was playing behind a BMW X6 car in a residential area, China Daily reported.

The driver drove the car backward without looking behind and knocked down the boy, the report said.

“My son was run over four times,” the boy’s father surnamed Li was quoted as saying.

The BMW car was equipped with both rear-view mirrors and a radar that sounds a warning when the car, driving in reverse, nears an object.

The driver did not look behind his car before driving backward, which was the direct reason for the accident, police said.