TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taoyuan District Court on Saturday (Sept. 18) ordered the detention of two men who allegedly engaged in a drag race gone wrong Friday (Sept. 17), with one of the cars losing control and killing two men at a roadside gathering.

The accident happened around midnight on Friday, when a speeding car driven by a man surnamed Hung (洪), 34, passed by No. 2278, Section 9, Kuaisu Road in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District.

Hung’s car drifted out of control and swerved, killing two pedestrians and injuring another two, CNA reported.

After questioning Hung and his racing opponent Chiu (邱), police referred them to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office. After interviewing the suspects, the office applied to the district court for an order directing their detention, which the court granted on Saturday.

The district court said that Hung pled guilty to both negligent homicide and endangering the safety of public traffic resulting in death, while Chiu pled guilty to the former but not the latter. The court said Chiu's plea was not supported by the statements of witnesses and surveillance video footage, CNA reported.

According to Taiwan's Criminal Code, endangering the safety of public traffic resulting in death is a felony and “the offender shall be sentenced to life imprisonment or imprisonment for not less than seven years.”