Pedestrian Wearing Dark Clothes Crosses 8-Lane Road Illegally at Dawn, Killed by Driver... Driver Found Not Guilty

Court: "Drivers Are Not Obliged to Prepare for Unforeseeable Situations"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] A driver who fatally struck a pedestrian illegally crossing an 8-lane road while wearing dark clothing before sunrise was acquitted. The court ruled that the driver could not be punished if the accident was difficult to foresee.

On the 2nd, Judge Jeong Hyun-seol of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 11 announced that A (65), who was tried on charges of causing death by violation of the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling, was found not guilty.

A was charged with fatally hitting B (72), who was illegally crossing an 8-lane road in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, at around 5:05 a.m. on August 16 last year while driving his SUV.

The prosecution argued that since the road was a general road, not an expressway, A had a legal responsibility to properly watch the front and reduce speed upon spotting B, and thus brought him to trial.

In court, A pleaded, "At the time of the accident, it was before sunrise, and the victim was illegally crossing the 8-lane road wearing dark clothing. Under these circumstances, I obeyed the speed limit and looked ahead properly, but I could not see the victim until the collision."

The court stated, "It was dark before sunrise, and the victim was wearing relatively dark clothing. It appears that the defendant had difficulty identifying the victim’s movements near the center line. It has not been proven that the defendant had a duty of care to anticipate such a situation and drive accordingly."

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