Golf Course Cart Overturns Causing Brain Death... Caddy Who Drove It Commits Suicide Four Days Later

Accident Occurs During Electric Cart Operation
Suspected Extreme Choice Due to Psychological Burden

At a golf course, a caddie who was driving an electric cart made an extreme choice after a user was declared brain dead when the cart overturned.

According to the Yongin Dongbu Police Station in Gyeonggi Province on the 18th, a man in his 50s, Mr. A, was found collapsed on the first floor of an apartment near Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province, around 4:15 p.m. on the 16th and was taken to the hospital but passed away, reported Yonhap News Agency.

At a golf course, a caddie who was driving an electric cart made an extreme choice after a user was declared brain dead when the cart overturned. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo by Pixabay]

Mr. A, a caddie at a golf course in Yongin City, caused an accident on the afternoon of the 12th, four days earlier, while driving an electric cart when it overturned sideways on a curved road. As a result of this accident, a user in his 40s, Mr. B, who was riding in the passenger seat, suffered a severe head injury and was declared brain dead at the hospital.

The family decided to honor the deceased’s usual intention to donate organs, and Mr. B reportedly passed away on the 17th. After Mr. B’s death, Mr. A is presumed to have made an extreme choice due to psychological burden from the accident and other factors. It is known that he left a suicide note.

The police plan to dismiss the case against Mr. A for violating the Special Act on the Treatment of Traffic Accidents due to the death of the cart driver, citing "lack of prosecution rights." However, investigations regarding safety management responsibilities of golf course staff and others will continue.

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, a total of 1,421 cart accidents occurred at golf courses nationwide over five years from 2017 to 2021. By year, there were 209 cases in 2017, 203 in 2018, 284 in 2019, 361 in 2020, and 364 in 2021.

The five-year average is 284 cart accidents per year, or 24 per month. Since minor contact accidents are often not reported, the actual number of accidents is believed to be much higher. By accident type, collision accidents were the most common with 1,079 cases over five years, followed by falls with 294 cases, and overturns with 54 cases.

The number of injured people due to cart accidents also reached 1,244 during the same five-year period.

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