"Afraid of Taking the Blame"... Traffic Accident Fatality Turns Out to Have Died in a Tow Truck

Accident Occurs While Squeezing Between Vehicles
Perpetrator Steals Vehicle's Black Box After Causing Accident

In April, a collision between vehicles occurred on the 2nd Jungbu Expressway in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, resulting in two deaths. It was later revealed that one of the victims, after the accident, was on the road and was run over and killed by a tow truck that arrived afterward. The tow truck driver was found to have hidden not only his own vehicle’s black box but also the memory of the accident vehicle’s black box to conceal the incident.

On the 16th, Yonhap News reported that "the Gwangju Police Station in Gyeonggi arrested a tow truck driver in his 30s, Mr. A, on charges including hit-and-run causing death under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, and sent him to the prosecution." According to Yonhap, Mr. A is accused of running over and killing Mr. B, in his 30s, with his tow truck near the Sangbeoncheon rest area on the 2nd Jungbu Expressway heading toward Hanam on the morning of April 28. Earlier that day, at around 2:50 a.m., Mr. B had caused an accident by rear-ending Mr. C’s Actyon vehicle, who is in his 20s, while driving his Audi passenger car in the second lane.

Photo of the accident scene at the time. [Photo by Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters]

After the accident, Mr. B got out of his car, complained of pain, wandered around the area, and then sat down beside his vehicle. Many road corporation and fire department personnel who first arrived at the scene witnessed this. However, after hearing about the accident, Mr. A arrived at the scene with his tow truck, and Mr. B’s condition rapidly deteriorated. Mr. B, who had appeared conscious moments earlier, suddenly went into cardiac arrest. Both Mr. B and Mr. C, who was also in cardiac arrest, were transported to the hospital but ultimately died. The police secured such testimonies from witnesses at the scene and immediately launched an investigation on the day of the accident.

The police captured footage from the ambulance’s black box at the scene showing Mr. A’s vehicle hitting Mr. B, who was sitting on the road. Mr. A had squeezed his tow truck between the central divider and Mr. B’s vehicle to tow it, striking Mr. B who was beside the vehicle. Afterward, Mr. A got out of the vehicle without providing any aid, took the black box from Mr. B’s vehicle, and left the scene. He reportedly told a scene official that "the wheel part of the vehicle was broken, making towing difficult." It was known that five tow trucks had gathered at the accident site, competing to tow vehicles. Mr. A was found to have driven against traffic on the expressway to reach the scene and attempted to tow Mr. B’s vehicle while other tow trucks were towing Mr. C’s vehicle.

The police identified Mr. A by questioning the five tow trucks that arrived at the scene and conducted a search of Mr. A’s residence and office in early May. They found records on Mr. A’s laptop showing black box footage had been played and then deleted at the time of the accident. Upon further questioning, Mr. A revealed the hidden memory card. The National Forensic Service’s autopsy gave a preliminary verbal opinion that Mr. B’s cause of death was likely due to being run over by the vehicle. Mr. A admitted during the police investigation, saying, "I thought Mr. B was already dead and took the black box memory to avoid being implicated in a secondary accident." The police sent Mr. A to the prosecution in late May under arrest.

Currently, Mr. A has been indicted and is undergoing a first trial at the Suwon District Court Seongnam Branch. A police official explained, "It appears Mr. A recklessly squeezed between the central divider and the vehicle to tow it," adding, "The black box memory stolen by Mr. A from Mr. B’s vehicle did not contain footage of the accident."