A woman who was riding an electric wheelchair with her adult son was killed after they were hit by a taxi on their way home in Busan, police said Tuesday.

Both were taken to a hospital, but the mother was pronounced dead later the same day.

According to Busan Police, the taxi hit the electric wheelchair at around 12:10 a.m. Tuesday in front of a community welfare center located in Yeongdo-gu, Busan.

The woman, 67, was riding in the lap of her 44-year-old son, who has a physical disability, on her way home from work. She had worked as a janitor at a gym to support herself and her son.

They were driving on the wrong side of the road and were hit by an oncoming taxi. The mother lost consciousness and received surgery at the hospital, but died. The son, seriously injured in the accident, is receiving treatment at the same hospital.

Police said the accident likely occurred as the son was trying to take his mother up a steep hill on his wheelchair. Police are investigating the exact cause of the accident, questioning the 56-year-old taxi driver and analyzing surveillance camera footage.

By Park Ju-young (jupark@heraldcorp.com)