Police have sought approval from prosecutors to formally arrest and charge a man whose speeding car led to the death of a pedestrian in Hangzhou.

The young male driver has been in police detention since the May 7 crash which took the life of 25-year-old Tan Zhuo in Zhejiang province.

Addressing the media on Friday, police apologized for statements made one day after the crash in which they said the driver was traveling at 70km/h - 20km/h above the speed limit.