A police officer in central China's Hubei Province was detained on Monday in connection with the death of an elderly woman after she was dragged for about 1,000 meters by a police wagon on Sunday.

The driver, surnamed Yan, was a police officer at the people's procuratorate of Qianjiang City. He is now under police custody.

Witnesses said a taxi collided with a motorbike at about 7:50 p.m. Sunday near a downtown gas station in Qianjiang. The motorbike driver, surnamed Yang, was severely injured and his wife, surnamed Shen, fell off the motorbike's back seat and lay on the ground, said police.

Yan's vehicle sped to the scene. Shen got caught by the police wagon and was dragged for about 1,000 meters, police said.

Local traffic police confirmed Yan had drunk alcohol before he began driving.

According to local newspapers reports, Shen was 67 years old. Yang, 70, was in a critical condition in hospital.

The provincial people's procuratorate has sent a team to the city to investigate.

(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2008)