The Driver in the Secondary Accident Is Not Guilty... "Difficult to Avoid Accident Even When Duty of Care Is Fulfilled"
A man in his 60s who was punished eight times for traffic-related crimes such as drunk driving and driving without a license, and who caused the death of one person again due to unlicensed driving, was sentenced to prison by the court.
According to the legal community and Yonhap News on the 23rd, Judge Park I-rang of Criminal Division 14 at Suwon District Court sentenced Mr. A to two years in prison on charges of causing death under the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling and unlicensed driving under the Road Traffic Act.
Mr. A is accused of hitting and killing a female pedestrian, Ms. B (56), who was crossing the crosswalk at around 7:25 a.m. on December 21, 2022, at an intersection in front of the back gate located in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province. It was investigated that Ms. B was struck by Mr. A’s vehicle, fell into the opposite lane, and was then hit by Mr. C’s passenger car.
It was confirmed that Mr. A was driving without a license when the accident occurred. He had previously been fined five times for drunk driving. In addition, he had two fines for unlicensed driving and one fine for violating the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling, totaling eight traffic-related criminal records.
The court pointed out, "The defendant’s negligence in this case is serious, and the victim suffered an irreparable loss of life." However, the court also stated the reasons for sentencing, considering that "the defendant admitted to the crime, the victim’s death was caused by a secondary accident where the victim, who had fallen on the crosswalk, was run over, and the defendant’s last prior offense was unlicensed driving in 2012, which was a considerable time before this incident."
However, Mr. C, who was also tried for causing a secondary accident and charged with causing death under the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling, was acquitted. Mr. C was facing charges of causing death under the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling.
The court explained that its judgment was based on factors such as the accident occurring before sunrise in dark conditions due to rain, the victim wearing dark-colored clothes and lying on the road, Mr. C’s view being obstructed by the headlights of vehicles in the opposite lane, and the defendant’s driving speed being below the speed limit just before the accident.
Earlier, on the 22nd, a man in his 40s who was on trial for drunk and unlicensed driving was arrested again for the same charges and was eventually detained. At that time, the Jinhae Police Station in Gyeongnam arrested a man in his 40s on the morning of the 10th at around 6 a.m. on a road in Jinhae-gu, Changwon-si, for driving under the influence and without a license after hitting a roadside tree (charges under the Road Traffic Act for drunk and unlicensed driving).
Although part of the vehicle was damaged in the accident and there were no casualties, it was confirmed that this man was currently on trial for drunk and unlicensed driving charges from April and had prior convictions for similar offenses. The police identified that he had recently been working in the pharmaceutical delivery business, which involved driving.
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