30s Man Sentenced to 13 Years in First Trial for Drunk Hit-and-Run Causing High School Student's Death

A Man in His 30s Driving at 130 km/h While Intoxicated
Court Considers Reckless Speeding Before the Accident

A man in his 30s was sentenced to prison for hitting and killing a high school student who was crossing a crosswalk while he was speeding under the influence of alcohol.

On the 13th, Judge Heo Mi-sook of the Criminal Division 3 at Cheonan Branch of Daejeon District Court sentenced Mr. A (36), who was arrested and indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (hit-and-run resulting in death, etc.), to 13 years in prison.

Mr. A was tried on charges of hitting and killing a high school student, Mr. B (17), who was crossing a crosswalk at an intersection in Budae-dong, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan, around 8:40 p.m. on March 21. The road where the accident occurred had a speed limit of 50 km/h, but Mr. A was found to have been driving at 130 km/h. At the time, Mr. A’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.119%, which is above the level for license cancellation. After causing the accident, he continued driving for another 1.8 km before hitting a roadside tree and stopping.

Mr. A argued that the pedestrian signal was red at the time of the accident, but the court did not accept this. Judge Heo Mi-sook stated, “The victim crossed the crosswalk while the signal was green, and although it turned red just before the accident, considering that the defendant repeatedly ignored signals and drove recklessly at high speed before the accident, it is difficult to see that this had a significant impact on the outcome.”

She added, “Students who lost their friend with whom they studied and dreamed together, and teachers who lost their student, are petitioning for severe punishment of the defendant. Considering also that the defendant was not enrolled in mandatory car insurance and no compensation has been made to date, it is appropriate to impose a heavy sentence,” explaining the sentencing rationale.

[Image source=Online Community]

After the accident, Mr. A’s vehicle also became a topic of discussion. On the rear of Mr. A’s vehicle, stickers with phrases such as ‘The first lane on the highway is the passing lane,’ ‘See? No safe distance maintained,’ ‘Good brake performance. High property insurance limit?’ and ‘If you hit me, thank you’ were attached. Netizens speculated that this vehicle was the same one that appeared in an online community in 2022 and caused controversy. At that time, netizens reacted with comments like ‘First strange stickers, now an accident,’ and ‘What a mess.’