On Gyeongin Expressway, Vehicle Driven by Chinese Driver Goes the Wrong Way... 7-Car Pileup Causes 4 Casualties

Chinese Driver Drives Wrong Way on Road on 7th
Chain Collision Causes 1 Death and 3 Injuries
Police Say "Likely Mistook Navigation Guidance"

CCTV footage of the highway at the time of the accident. [Video source provided by Korea Expressway Corporation]

A chain collision occurred on the Gyeongin Expressway when a vehicle driven by a foreign woman in her 40s was driving in the wrong direction on an exit ramp, resulting in 1 death and 3 injuries.

According to the Incheon Police Agency and Incheon Fire Department on the 7th, at around 5:20 a.m. that day, a compact car driven by a Chinese national woman in her 40s, identified as Ms. A, was driving in the wrong direction on the Bupyeong Interchange (IC) ramp section of the Gyeongin Expressway in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, and collided with a van while merging onto the main road.

Immediately after the accident, five other vehicles, including a 1-ton truck following the van, collided one after another. As a result of the accident, a man in his 70s driving the truck died, and three people were injured and transported to the hospital by 119 emergency responders. Additionally, due to the aftermath of the accident, traffic congestion occurred for about two hours on the Seoul-bound section of the Gyeongin Expressway during the morning commute.

It was confirmed that Ms. A was neither under the influence of alcohol nor driving without a license.

The police are investigating the detailed circumstances of the accident, believing that Ms. A mistook the navigation guidance and drove in the wrong direction on the highway exit ramp. A police official stated, "The accident occurred as Ms. A’s vehicle made a right turn onto the main highway after driving in the wrong direction on the exit ramp," and added, "Ms. A will be investigated on charges of causing death under the Special Act on the Settlement of Traffic Accidents."