Elderly Man Collecting Recyclables Dies After Being Hit by Drunk Driver in His 20s... Driver Caught After Fleeing 500m

20s Involved in Drunk Driving Accident... 'License Cancellation' Level
Fled into Alley When Police Arrived
70s Collecting Empty Bottles and Waste Paper Found Dead

A man in his 70s who lived with his wife by collecting empty bottles and waste paper died after being hit by a drunk driving vehicle. The driver in his 20s, who was driving a foreign car under the influence of alcohol, reportedly fled through an alley. On the 15th, JTBC reported, "Mr. A is suspected of driving a BMW passenger car while intoxicated and hitting Mr. B (77), who was crossing the road, in Sungui-dong, Michuhol-gu, Incheon, at around 10:50 p.m. on the 13th, causing his death."

[Image source=JTBC news screen capture]

According to the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage released that day, a man in his 70s holding recyclable waste in his hand was slowly crossing a two-lane road. At that moment, a black vehicle came speeding from afar without slowing down and ran over the elderly man. After getting out of the car, driver Mr. A sat on the sidewalk and called 112. Although he was rambling, saying "I don't know where this is," he did not mention that he had hit a person. A witness said, "(Mr. A) was talking like, 'What should I do?' after contacting his parents."

[Image source=JTBC news screen capture]

The police began handling the accident only after tracing the call origin and receiving consecutive reports from witnesses. When emergency responders and police arrived, Mr. A fled about 500 meters into a dark alley to avoid being seen and was urgently arrested by the police 50 minutes after the accident. At the time of arrest, Mr. A's blood alcohol concentration was 0.199%, much higher than the license cancellation standard (0.08%).

The police are investigating Mr. A on charges of hit-and-run causing death under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act. It is known that Mr. A was unable to properly answer the question of "Why did you cause the accident and flee?" The police are considering applying additional charges of reckless driving causing death under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and plan to request an arrest warrant soon.