"Hyung, This Is Sudden Acceleration" Driver Calls Colleague Immediately After Sicheong Station Accident

Call with bus driver colleague about 15 minutes after the accident
Perpetrator booked on charges under the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling

In the wake of the ‘Seoul City Hall Station wrong-way driving accident’ that resulted in 9 deaths and 4 injuries, it has been reported that the perpetrator, Cha Mo (68, male), called a colleague at the bus company where he works in Gyeonggi Province immediately after the accident, claiming that the vehicle experienced sudden unintended acceleration.

Vehicle completely destroyed in a major traffic accident near City Hall Station [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to Herald Economy on the 2nd, Mr. A, a team leader at the bus company where Cha is employed, received a call from Cha around 9:45 p.m. on the 1st. During the call, Cha reportedly said, "Brother, this is sudden unintended acceleration." The accident occurred at 9:27 p.m., so this call was made about 15 minutes after the incident.

Cha has been working as a contract employee at a bus company located in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, for nearly 1 year and 4 months. He usually operated a 9-meter medium-sized bus carrying about 20 passengers and was known to have a clean driving record.

Another driver from the company told Herald Economy, “I believe the accident was caused by sudden unintended acceleration,” adding, “I watched the black box footage and saw that the brakes were not applied and the vehicle swerved abruptly. Any driver would recognize this from the video.”

After the accident, Cha has been insisting to the police and media that the vehicle experienced sudden unintended acceleration. In a phone interview with a media outlet that morning, Cha stated, “I kept pressing the brake, but the vehicle did not respond.”

On the other hand, there are analyses that suggest it is difficult to consider the incident as sudden unintended acceleration. Professor Yeom Geon-ung of the Department of Police and Fire Administration at U1 University said in an interview with CBS Radio’s ‘Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show’ that when asked about the possibility of sudden unintended acceleration in the City Hall Station accident, “I think the possibility of sudden unintended acceleration is close to zero.”

On the morning of the 2nd, debris from the accident was scattered on the sidewalk near the intersection by Seoul City Hall Station, where a major traffic accident occurred the previous day.
[Photo by Yonhap]

He continued, “If sudden unintended acceleration had occurred at the scene, the vehicle would have accelerated rapidly and would not stop unless it collided with a structure. However, the footage shows the offending vehicle slowing down and stopping, which is unlikely in a sudden unintended acceleration scenario.”

According to the police and fire authorities, at around 9:27 p.m. on the 1st, a Genesis vehicle driven by Mr. A exited the underground parking lot of the Westin Chosun Hotel near City Hall Station, drove the wrong way on a one-way four-lane road, and then crashed onto the sidewalk on the left side. The accident resulted in 9 pedestrian deaths. Six died at the scene, and three were transported to the hospital in cardiac arrest but were later pronounced dead.