'Eulwangri Drunk Driving' Witness: "The Male and Female Offenders Looked at Me as If to Pick a Fight... They Were Rather Confident"

"Both Benz Man and Woman Drunk... Staggering as They Get Out of the Car"

At around 12:55 a.m. on the 9th, in the second lane of one side of Eulwang-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon, B (54, male), who was delivering chicken on a motorcycle, was hit and killed by a Mercedes-Benz vehicle driven by A (33, female), who was intoxicated. The photo shows the accident scene at that time. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] As the decision on whether to detain the drunk driving perpetrator who hit and killed a 50-year-old family man delivering chicken near Eulwangri Beach in Incheon is set for the 14th, voices criticizing the perpetrator's response at the time of the accident continue to emerge.

On the CBS program 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' aired that day, a witness at the accident scene revealed a recorded testimony given to an acquaintance of the bereaved family immediately after the accident.

The witness said in the recording, "I witnessed the accident and reported it to 119 and 112 with my younger sibling. The deceased was lying face down in the middle of the four-lane road," adding, "I saw a Mercedes-Benz vehicle behind, and since no one came out, I thought the driver was also injured."

The witness explained, "The Mercedes-Benz driver also seemed injured, and when I checked, a male passenger was lowering the window," adding, "He was staring as if about to start an argument. The man was already intoxicated, and looking inside (the driver's seat), the woman was also drunk."

He continued, "The paramedics called and said it would take about 10 minutes, but seeing the victim collapsed on a rainy day was maddening," and "Only then did the female driver stagger out."

He added, "She pointed at the deceased and asked what relation I had to him," and "I replied that I had no relation and asked if she didn’t see the person lying there. I really thought these people were crazy."

The witness also expressed anger, saying, "Even though she was at fault, she was rather confident. There was no sign of remorse at all."

On the 10th, a petition urging strict punishment for the perpetrator of the 'Eulwangri drunk driving wrong-way accident' was posted on the Blue House National Petition website. Photo by Blue House National Petition post capture

Earlier, the accident occurred around 12:55 a.m. on the 9th on a two-lane one-way road in front of a hotel in Eulwang-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon. A (33-year-old female), driving a Mercedes-Benz while heavily intoxicated, collided with B (54-year-old male), who was delivering chicken on a motorcycle. B was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and transported to a nearby hospital but ultimately passed away.

Investigations revealed that the Mercedes-Benz driven by A crossed the center line and struck B’s motorcycle coming from the opposite direction. Immediately after the accident, A’s blood alcohol concentration was reported to be over 0.1%, exceeding the license cancellation level (0.08%).

Subsequently, B’s daughter posted a petition on the Blue House National Petition Board on the 10th, urging severe punishment for the drunk driving perpetrator. The daughter expressed outrage, stating that the perpetrators sought a lawyer before calling 119 while intoxicated at the time of the accident.

The petitioner said, "My father, the youngest of seven siblings, died, and my family was shattered in an instant," and appealed, "Please ensure that the murderer does not escape by abusing the law for my father, who never once lived without working hard all his life."

She added, "There was a body lying on the center line, but the perpetrator, while drunk, sought a lawyer before calling 119 (as confirmed by witness accounts)," and pleaded, "Please ensure the maximum sentence is imposed." As of 3 p.m. on the 14th, the petition had garnered over 560,000 signatures.

Meanwhile, the police applied the so-called 'Yoon Chang-ho Act,' which strengthens punishment for fatal accidents caused by drunk driving, to A and requested an arrest warrant. The passenger who was in the Mercedes-Benz at the time of the accident was also booked without detention on charges of aiding drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act.

A, who is charged with causing death by dangerous driving under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, was reported to have left the Incheon Jungbu Police Station detention center around 1:30 p.m. on the 14th, boarded a police van, and was transported to the Incheon District Court for a pretrial detention hearing (warrant review).

The warrant review for A is scheduled to be conducted by Judge Lee Won-jung, head of the warrant division at Incheon District Court, starting at 2:30 p.m. on the same day, with the detention decision expected later in the afternoon.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.