Driver in his 60s killed in early morning jaywalking pedestrian found not guilty

The court found a driver in his 60s not guilty after being put on trial on charges of hitting and killing a pedestrian who was jaywalking on a deserted road in the dark of early morning.

According to the legal community on the 29th, the Namyangju Branch of Uijeongbu District Court found Mr. A, who was indicted on charges of violating the Special Act on Traffic Accidents (death), not guilty on the 13th of last month.

Mr. A was brought to trial on charges of hitting and killing Mr. B, who was jaywalking, while driving a medium-sized truck at a speed of 63 km/h on a one-way two-lane road in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, at around 1 a.m. in May last year. Mr. B was immediately taken to the hospital, but died while receiving treatment.

At trial, Mr. A pleaded not guilty. Mr. A's side claimed, "There was no professional negligence as it was early morning at the time of the accident and we could not have predicted that Mr. B would jaywalk. The speed limit on the road where the accident occurred was 70 km/h, and the speed limit was also complied with."

The court accepted Mr. A’s argument. The road where the accident occurred is separated from each other by two lanes on each side, so it can be seen as a one-way street. There are no permits or commercial facilities nearby, so there are few people, and there are no crosswalks installed, so it was difficult to predict that such an accident would occur.

Mr. A's legal representative, Yoo Jae-young, a lawyer at Daeryun Law Firm, said, "The incident occurred late at night in the dark, and Mr. B's clothes were also dark-colored, making it difficult for the driver to recognize the jaywalking pedestrian. It appears that the court took these circumstances into consideration and found him not guilty."

Reporter Jeong Cheol-wook

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Seoul Newspaper - 60-year-old driver not guilty of death after hitting pedestrian jaywalking at dawn (Shortcut)
Herald Economy - Man in his 60s found not guilty after running over and killing a jaywalking pedestrian in the dark of early morning (Shortcut)