Misguided Love... The Actual Driver in the 'Sangga Crash Drunk Driving Accident' Was the Girlfriend

Passenger 'Driver Switch' Caught by Police
Driver Switch to Avoid Insurance Liability... Victim Compensation Uncertain

A woman in her 20s who caused an accident by driving a sports utility vehicle (SUV) into a commercial building while intoxicated was caught by the police after she and her male passenger boyfriend attempted a 'driver switch.'

On the 10th, the Jincheon Police Station in Chungbuk announced that at around 5:45 a.m. on the 29th of last month, an SUV crashed into a commercial building in Deoksan-eup, Jincheon-gun. Fortunately, no one was injured as there was no one on the street or in the building at the time. Immediately after the accident, a man in his 20s, Mr. A, who got out of the vehicle, told the police at the scene that he was the driver. Mr. A said he had driven about 1 km after drinking, and his blood alcohol concentration at the time was above 0.08%, which is the level for license cancellation.

The scene of a drunk driving accident in Jincheon, Chungbuk [Image source: Provided by Chungbuk Police Agency, Yonhap News]

However, police investigation revealed that the actual driver at the time of the accident was not Mr. A but his girlfriend Ms. B (also in her 20s), who was riding as a passenger. Analysis of CCTV footage along the vehicle’s route showed that Mr. A stopped the vehicle midway and switched seats with Ms. B. Although Ms. B was not tested for alcohol at the time of the accident, the police are considering applying drunk driving charges to her as well, based on their initial statement that they had been drinking together.

A police official stated, "It appears that Mr. A claimed he took the wheel to protect his girlfriend," adding, "We will summon them again soon to investigate the exact circumstances, and we are also considering applying charges of aiding and abetting a criminal to Mr. A."

Meanwhile, on the 9th, the victim of the incident, Mr. C, posted a plea for help titled "Please help with a driver switch in drunk driving by early 20s drivers" on an online community. Mr. C, who runs an eyewear store that has been open for only a year, suffered significant damage including the destruction of expensive equipment due to the accident. The vehicle crashed into the middle of an unmanned stationery store next to the eyewear shop and entered inside, leaving the store looking as if it had been hit by a bomb.

The problem is that the vehicle involved was a rental car, making the compensation process complicated, and the situation worsens because the contract holder, Mr. A, was not the actual driver. Mr. C expressed his distress, saying, "(The insurance company) said that since the passenger was driving and caused the accident, it falls under an insurance exemption clause, so the insurance company will no longer be involved," adding, "The store of a family man in his 30s collapsed in an instant, threatening his livelihood."

He continued, "The perpetrators in their early 20s not only drove drunk but also committed crimes of property damage and driver switching," and said, "I want to restore the store to its original state and see the offenders severely punished, but I don’t know how to resolve this."