Incheon School Zone Elementary Student-Friendly Truck Driver: "I Will Accept the Judgment of the People"

Truck driver kills elementary school student in school zone [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jumi Lee] A truck driver who was indicted for causing the death of an elementary school student by illegally making a right turn in a school zone in Incheon has requested a citizen trial.

On the 13th, at a pretrial hearing held by the Criminal Division 15 of the Incheon District Court (Presiding Judge Kyuhun Lee), the truck driver A (65), who was detained and indicted on charges of causing death in a school zone under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, expressed to the court his desire for a citizen trial.

A’s lawyer stated, "The defendant admits to hitting the victim with the vehicle," but argued, "He did not exceed the speed limit or violate traffic signals, and there was no possibility to foresee the accident, so we deny the claim that he failed to fulfill the driver’s duty of care."

He added, "This is an accident that ordinary citizens can experience in daily life," and explained that the reason for requesting a citizen trial was to have the jury of citizens judge whether the defendant could have foreseen the accident at that time.

On the other hand, the prosecution countered, "In this case, the video evidence is clearer than testimonies, so playing the video in court is sufficient to determine whether the defendant could have foreseen and avoided the accident," and argued, "There is no need to hear the opinions of multiple citizens."

The court also stated, "There are many doubts about whether this case should proceed as a citizen trial. We will carefully consider and decide."

The court is scheduled to decide on whether to proceed with a citizen trial for A at the next pretrial hearing on the 27th.

Earlier, A was brought to trial on charges of hitting and killing a 10-year-old elementary school student B, who was crossing the crosswalk alone in front of Shingwang Elementary School in Sinheung-dong, Jung-gu, around 1:50 p.m. on March 18, with a 25-ton truck in the school zone. It was confirmed that he illegally made a right turn from the second lane, which is a straight lane among the three lanes in one direction, violating the Road Traffic Act regulation that requires driving slowly along the rightmost edge of the road before making a right turn.

However, a detailed analysis by the Road Traffic Authority found that A did not violate the speed limit or traffic signals. Unlike the usual speed limit of 30 km/h in school zones, the accident site had a speed limit of 50 km/h. The vehicle speed limit in school zones is arbitrarily set by the police considering traffic flow.

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