70s Driver Claiming "Sudden Acceleration" in High School Student Death Accident... Ultimately Surrenders to National Forensic Service

Forensic Analysis by NFS: "Did Not Press Brake"
Driver Reverses Statement, "Pressed Accelerator, Not Brake"

A car driver who caused the death of a high school student by crashing into a bus stop initially claimed sudden unintended acceleration but eventually admitted negligence after the National Forensic Service (NFS) analysis results were released.

Passenger car crashes into bus stop. [Source=Provided by Yonhap News reader, CCTV footage capture]

On the 23rd, the Boseong Police Station in Jeonnam announced that they plan to send Mr. A (78), who was booked on charges of violating the duty of safe driving under the Road Traffic Act, to the prosecution after proving the charges.

Mr. A was driving a passenger car on a road in Beolgyo-eup, Boseong-gun, around 2:15 p.m. on the 1st of this month when he crashed into a bus stop. A 16-year-old high school student sitting at the bus stop was seriously injured and transported to the hospital but ultimately passed away.

The accident occurred at an entrance road from Suncheon to Boseong, a place with usually heavy vehicle traffic. It was investigated that Mr. A hit the bus stop while making a right turn at this location.

Accordingly, the police booked Mr. A on charges of violating the Special Act on the Settlement of Traffic Accidents (causing death) and proceeded with the investigation.

Immediately after the accident, he claimed, "I pressed the brake, but the car accelerated," and "there was a sudden unintended acceleration phenomenon."

In response, the NFS conducted a detailed analysis of the Event Data Recorder (EDR) installed in the vehicle and notified the police that there was no history of manipulating the braking system.

Eventually, Mr. A reversed his previous statement. He stated that when entering a curve where speed should be reduced, "I tried to press the brake to slow down, but I mistakenly pressed the accelerator pedal and panicked, so I could not turn the steering wheel," thereby retracting his earlier testimony.

It was revealed that about an hour before the accident, Mr. A was weaving between lanes while driving on the highway and was even stopped by the police following a report from another driver.

At that time, the police checked for alcohol consumption but found no issues and advised him to drive safely before letting him go.

Aside from his advanced age, Mr. A reportedly had no special illnesses or conditions.

Overall Traffic Accidents Decreased, but Accidents Involving Elderly Drivers Increased

Meanwhile, according to the '2020-2022 Overall Traffic Accidents and Elderly Driver Traffic Accident Status' released by the Korea Road Traffic Authority, last year recorded 196,836 total traffic accidents, a 3.1% decrease from the previous year, but traffic accidents involving elderly drivers increased by 8.8% to 34,652 cases.

The number of traffic accidents over the past three years has been on a downward trend: ▲2020 (209,654 cases) ▲2021 (203,130 cases) ▲2022 (196,836 cases).

However, traffic accidents involving elderly drivers increased as follows: ▲2020 (31,072 cases) ▲2021 (31,841 cases) ▲2022 (33,652 cases).

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