[Exclusive] Man in His 50s Hit and Killed by Passenger Car While Lying on Roadside in Jungnang-gu

Jungnang Police Station Books 60s Driver Without Detention
Seemingly Did Not See Fallen Pedestrian... Not Drunk Driving or Speeding

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The Jungnang Police Station in Seoul announced on the 20th that they have booked and are investigating a man in his 60s, identified as driver A, without detention on charges of causing death by hitting a pedestrian lying on the road (under the Special Act on the Treatment of Traffic Accidents).

On the 10th at around 7:20 p.m., driver A hit a man in his 50s, identified as B, who was lying at the edge of the road near a crosswalk in Myeonmok-dong, Jungnang-gu, Seoul, while making a right turn. B was transported to the hospital immediately after the accident but eventually died.

At the time, B was reportedly intoxicated and had caused a disturbance by confronting passing cars on the road before lying down alone by the roadside. It is known that B had a habit of visiting this location and repeating such behavior.

In the police investigation, A stated, "I did not see B at all in my line of sight." The police believe that since the accident occurred at night and B was lying at the corner of the crosswalk, the driver failed to notice the presence of a person.

Police investigations confirmed that A was not driving under the influence of alcohol and was not speeding. While awaiting verification results from the National Forensic Service, the police are verifying the exact circumstances of the accident with A and witnesses.

So-called “stealth pedestrian accidents,” where intoxicated individuals fall asleep lying by the roadside and suffer fatal accidents, occur occasionally. In January, a patrol car on duty in Busan hit and killed a man in his 50s lying on the road in the early morning. In June last year, in Incheon, a woman driver in her 20s, who was heavily intoxicated, hit and killed a man in his 70s lying on the road with an SUV.

Some argue that intoxicated individuals lying by the roadside bear significant responsibility for fatal accidents. While accidents caused by driver negligence do occur, it is practically difficult for drivers to detect people lying in blind spots. In fact, the woman driver in her 20s involved in the fatal SUV accident in Incheon was acquitted in the first trial. The court considered factors such as the nighttime hour, the accident location, the victim’s position, and clothing, concluding that the driver could not have easily seen the victim. The court also found no evidence that the driver was inattentive or carelessly operating vehicle controls.

Recently, in Ulsan, a driver accused of hitting and fleeing from a pedestrian lying on the road was acquitted by the court. The Ulsan District Court acknowledged the driver’s negligence but also ruled that it could not be ruled out that the pedestrian was already deceased at the time of the accident.

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