Driver Acquitted for Hitting a Jaywalker Wearing Black Clothes While Driving at Night

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The driver who caused a traffic accident after failing to notice a jaywalker wearing black clothes at night was finally acquitted.

The Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Cho Hee-dae) announced on the 19th that it upheld the lower court's verdict of not guilty in the appeal trial of A (53), who was indicted for violating the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling (causing death). A, who works as a passenger car driver, was driving along the second lane on a three-lane one-way road in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, around 8 p.m. in January 2019. He failed to notice B (54), who was jaywalking, and caused an accident. B died on the spot due to brain damage.

The prosecution charged A with failing to fulfill the duty of care to prevent the accident by properly observing the front and sides and operating the steering and braking devices. The trial focused on whether A was in a situation to fulfill his duty of care (such as front observation) at the time of the accident and, if so, whether he sufficiently fulfilled it. The first trial sentenced him to one year in prison and two years of probation, stating, "A's professional negligence caused the serious result of the victim's death." The ruling considered that streetlights were installed near the accident site and there were motels and convenience stores along the road, making the presence of pedestrians reasonably foreseeable. It concluded that if A had paid a little more attention, the accident could have been avoided.

However, the second trial overturned the verdict to not guilty. Although there were streetlights and signboard lights around the road, it was judged that it would have been difficult to notice the victim B because he was wearing black-colored clothes. The second trial court stated, "According to the black box footage installed in A's car, B's figure was visible only just before the accident," and believed that it would have been difficult for A to stop the car. The Supreme Court also finalized A's acquittal, stating there was no legal error in the second trial's judgment.