Pedestrian Wearing Dark Clothes Dies Crossing Illegally at Night... Driver Found 'Not Guilty'

Court: "It is not easy to foresee jaywalkers wearing dark clothes on pitch-dark roads"

A driver who hit and killed a pedestrian wearing dark clothes and jaywalking at night was acquitted.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] A driver who fatally struck a pedestrian in his 70s wearing dark clothing while jaywalking at night was acquitted.

The Cheongju District Court Criminal Division 4 (Judge Lee Ho-dong) announced on the 2nd that it had acquitted Mr. A (65), who was tried on charges of causing death by negligence under the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling.

The court stated, "There is a possibility that Mr. A did not see the victim who was obscured by the vehicle ahead, and it would have been difficult to anticipate a jaywalker wearing dark clothing from head to toe on a pitch-dark road."

It added, "Although Mr. A appears to have exceeded the speed limit by about 8 km/h, even if he had complied with the speed limit, it would have been difficult to avoid the accident," explaining the reasoning behind the sentencing.

Mr. A was driving a sports utility vehicle (SUV) in Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk Province, around 8 p.m. on December 18 last year when he struck and killed Mr. B (74), who was jaywalking across a crosswalk.

During the police investigation, Mr. A stated, "The accident occurred while I was changing lanes to avoid the vehicle ahead that suddenly slowed down after recognizing the jaywalker. My view was obstructed by the vehicle in front."

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