Mistaken for a Drowsy Driving Victim... Guilty of Driving Without a License and Driver Substitution

Accident Involving City Bus Driver's Drowsy Driving Injures 9
Victims in a Romantic Relationship; Unlicensed Driver and Hit-and-Run Deemed Guilty

The driver and passenger of a passenger car that collided with a city bus drowsily driven at an intersection were later found guilty of unlicensed driving and aiding a criminal escape.

On the 9th, Yonhap News reported that Judge Bae Jin-ho of the Criminal Division 7 at Busan District Court sentenced city bus driver A, who was indicted on charges of injury, to 1 year and 2 months in prison with a 2-year probation. The court also sentenced the victim passenger car driver B and passenger C, who were respectively indicted on charges of unlicensed driving, injury, and aiding a criminal escape, to 10 months in prison with a 2-year probation and 6 months in prison with a 2-year probation, respectively.

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On April 30 last year, at around 10:39 a.m., A was driving a city bus while dozing off at an intersection in Busanjin-gu, Busan, and caused an accident by consecutively rear-ending a passenger car and a cargo truck before finally stopping after hitting a roadside tree. As a result of this accident, a total of nine people were injured, including six bus passengers, B and C in the passenger car, and the cargo truck driver.

What initially appeared to be a simple rear-end collision caused by drowsy driving was revealed during the police investigation to involve a driver substitution of the victim passenger car. C, who was a passenger in the car and in a romantic relationship with B, falsely testified that they were driving to conceal the fact that B was unlicensed at the time of the accident. After C’s testimony was proven false, both B and C were brought to trial.

The court pointed out to A, "The defendant, as a city bus driver serving the public, should have exercised greater caution but caused significant human and material damage due to drowsy driving," and sentenced him to a suspended prison term. Regarding B, the court explained the sentencing by stating, "B has been punished multiple times for unlicensed and drunk driving, and despite receiving a suspended sentence for drunk driving in 2021, reoffended and initially denied driving during the investigation, making severe punishment inevitable. However, consideration was given to the fact that B reached a settlement with the victims." As for C, the court noted, "C’s false testimony at the accident scene and during the preparation of the investigation report caused confusion in the investigation, constituting aiding a criminal escape, which is a serious offense." The court added, "However, sentencing was determined considering that C admitted to all crimes and has no prior record of similar offenses."

Meanwhile, according to Article 151 of the Criminal Act, a person who conceals or aids the escape of someone who has committed a crime punishable by a fine or higher is subject to imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to 5 million won.

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