A Korean court has acquitted a driver who caused a fatal traffic accident after losing consciousness at the wheel, ruling that the crash was not the result of negligence.
The Daegu District Court said Monday that it found a man in his 40s not guilty of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents, after concluding that he likely blacked out moments before the crash.
The incident occurred on April 24 last year, when the driver was traveling along Chilgok Jungang-daero in Daegu’s Buk-gu district and continued straight toward the Taejeon intersection. His vehicle suddenly veered onto a sidewalk and struck a bus stop, leaving three pedestrians injured, including two people in their 80s. One of the victims later died.
Prosecutors argued that the driver had breached his duty of care, citing evidence that he had taken psychotropic medication on the day of the accident and had slept no more than nine hours over the previous three days while attending a grandparent’s funeral.
The defense countered that the driver had suffered a sudden loss of consciousness.
Witnesses told investigators that he experienced convulsions and foaming at the mouth immediately after the crash, and medical opinions submitted to the court suggested symptoms consistent with epilepsy or psychogenic loss of consciousness.
The presiding judge said dashcam footage showed the driver obeying traffic signals and driving normally until 14 seconds before the collision. About seven seconds before impact, the vehicle made an abrupt directional change.
“Considering the driving pattern, the nature of the accident and the defendant’s condition immediately afterward, there is a very high likelihood that he lost consciousness,” the judge said in explaining the acquittal.
hnpark@heraldcorp.com
