Bus driver accused of negligent homicide of disembarking passenger

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A Seoul bus driver is under investigation after a passenger was killed when the vehicle sped off before they had fully disembarked, police said Wednesday.

The Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station have filed a case against the driver for professional negligence resulting in death for the fatal accident that occurred in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Monday.

The victim, in her 80s, fell to the ground while disembarking when the vehicle began to move. She got caught in the rear wheel and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Surveillance footage from the bus show it speeding with the door still open while the passenger was still in the process of getting off. The bus only stopped after other passengers alerted the driver to the accident.

Under the Passenger Transport Service Act, drivers in transport services are required to ensure the safety of passengers while they are getting in and out of vehicles. Article 26 of the act states that drivers are prohibited from "starting or operating a motor vehicle without shutting the door firmly," and from "starting a motor vehicle before passengers board or alight.”

The rules, however, are not well observed and the country has seen a pile of complaints about bus accidents caused by abrupt speeding and braking.

According to data from the Korea Consumer Agency, of the 428 complaints submitted by commuters between 2019 and 2023, over 65 percent were related to slipping and falling on a bus. Accidents in which a passenger gets hit inside the bus due to sudden stopping, accelerating, decelerating or turning accounted for 14.3 percent, while incidents involving getting stuck between doors made up around 13 percent. More than half of the complaints -- 51 percent -- came from individuals over 60 years old.

Another report from the same agency last year indicated that, out of a total of 51 buses -- both city and village -- eight had opened their doors before coming to a complete stop, while two sped away without properly shutting their doors.

In 2020, a female passenger in her 70s suffered a fatal head injury on a Seoul bus after hitting her head on the card reader following the bus suddenly braking. She died a week later from the accident. In October last year, the Supreme Court upheld the sentence of eight months in prison and two years of probation for the bus driver.