A car suddenly surged out of control in Taitung's Beinan township, killing the driver and trapping his teenage son, in a fatal accident now under police investigation.

• A 46-year-old man was driving home after taking his son to a hospital appointment when the car unexpectedly accelerated.
• The car smashed through the wall of the family home and plunged down a slope beside the house, throwing the driver out.
• Rescuers found him with no pulse and could not save him despite CPR and emergency care.
• The son was stuck in the passenger seat but stayed conscious and called for help himself on his phone.
• Firefighters used steel cables to stop the wrecked car sliding further before pulling him out and sending him to hospital.

Outlook: Police are still working out why the car surged, which will determine whether mechanical failure or driver error was to blame.