Sleeping on Shoulder While Drunk Driving... Active-Duty Police Officer Hit by Cargo Truck

Blood Alcohol Level Found to Warrant License Revocation

An active-duty police officer was caught after causing a traffic accident while sleeping on the shoulder of a highway in a drunken state.

The Highway Patrol Unit of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency announced on the 18th that it had booked Officer A, affiliated with the Pyeongtaek Police Station, on suspicion of violating the Road Traffic Act.

Drunk driving crackdown. Photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. Photo by The Asia Business Daily DB

At around 3:35 a.m. on the 16th, Officer A was driving home under the influence of alcohol when he parked his car on the shoulder near the Anseong Junction in the Busan-bound direction of the Gyeongbu Expressway and fell asleep. A 4.5-ton cargo truck passing by subsequently rear-ended Officer A’s vehicle, resulting in an accident.

It was found that although Officer A parked his car on the inside of the shoulder, part of the vehicle was still protruding into the outer lane of the main road. When police officers arrived at the scene and conducted a breathalyzer test, Officer A’s blood alcohol concentration was found to be at a level warranting license revocation.

Officer A is believed to have attended a couples’ gathering with his wife, consumed alcohol, and then drove home. The police have suspended Officer A from duty and are investigating the details of his drunk driving. They are also considering booking Officer A’s wife, who was in the car at the time, on charges of abetting drunk driving.

Recently, a series of drunk driving offenses involving police officers from the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency have come to light. On the 4th of this month, an officer from the Yongin Seobu Police Station was caught drunk driving, and in the previous month and in July, officers from the Suwon Gwonseon Police Station and the Siheung Police Station, respectively, were also apprehended for drunk driving. The police plan to pursue criminal charges and disciplinary action against all involved officers.