China News Service, July 3, according to a comprehensive report by the New Zealand Chinese Herald Network, in September last year, a tourist bus carrying Chinese tourists had a car accident near Rotorua, killing 4 adults and 1 child. On July 3 local time, the case was reopened in the Rotorua District Court, and the driver involved pleaded guilty. He admitted all the charges in court, including five accusations of careless driving causing death and eight accusations of careless driving causing injury.

　　The driver was Junwei Zhang (39 years old). Five people were killed in the accident and eight others were taken to hospital with serious injuries. Zhang suffered minor injuries in the accident.

　　Zhang initially contested the charges. His case was scheduled to be heard before the jury trial, but he admitted all the charges in the 3rd trial. During the court hearing, an interpreter was present.

　　Zhang is on bail pending trial and will be sentenced on September 21.

　　According to the summary of facts released by the police, the tour bus had already arranged the schedule of activities for Rotorua when it departed from Auckland. There were 23 Chinese tourists, two tour guides, a team leader and driver Zhang, a total of 27 people.

　　At around 11 am on the same day (September 4, 2019), Zhang drove a Sunlong 35-seater bus eastward on the Ngātira section of Highway 5 near Rotorua.

　　The weather conditions at that time were very poor, with strong winds, clouds and rain, and the road surface was slippery. When Zhang approached the right turn at the recommended speed of 85 km/h, he turned to the left.

　　There is no evidence that the defendant was speeding. A strong crosswind caused the bus's rear wheels to slip, and the defendant lost control of the bus. He quickly turned to the right, causing the back of the bus to swing to the left.

　　When the tail of the bus began to drift to the left, the Zhang steering wheel was overcorrected, causing the tail of the bus to run to the opposite lane and rotate 180 degrees. When the bus slid off the road, the passengers behind were shaken to the right, causing five passengers to be pushed out from the right rear window. The bus continued to slide to a small slope, rolled over to one side and pressed against the five passengers. In the end, 5 passengers were killed and 8 passengers suffered moderate to severe injuries.