Recycling Truck Driver Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Fatally Striking Elementary Student

Violation of Duty of Care...
Separate from Employer's Responsibility

A recycling collection truck driver has been sentenced to imprisonment after fatally striking an elementary school student who was walking home on a sidewalk in an apartment complex in Buk-gu, Gwangju.

On May 26, Judge Kim Taegyun, presiding judge of the Gwangju District Court Criminal Division 4, announced that A (age 50), who was indicted on charges of violating the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling (resulting in death), was sentenced to four years in prison.

A was indicted for fatally striking a first-grade elementary school student (age 7 at the time) while reversing a recycling collection truck on the sidewalk inside an apartment complex in Sinyong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju, at around 1:20 p.m. on October 30 last year.

The court stated, "Even if collection efficiency was somewhat reduced, the defendant should not have brought the vehicle into that area," and pointed out, "Nevertheless, the defendant operated the vehicle without sufficient attention, causing the accident."

The court further ruled, "Even if the business owner failed to provide safety training or did not check whether the vehicle was equipped with safety devices, these circumstances cannot be considered grounds to mitigate the defendant's responsibility."

Investigations found that the severity of the accident was exacerbated by structural safety negligence at the site, including the removal of posts separating the sidewalk from the roadway and the disregard of the two-to-three-person team work principle.

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