‘Thump’ while overtaking a bicycle… The prosecution’s judgment on the driver who claimed, “I could not detect it.”

Not indicted on charges of crashing a bicycle and fleeing
Prosecutors “We can’t rule out other possibilities other than overtaking.”

A man in his 40s who injured a cyclist and fled the scene was not indicted by the prosecution.

Last March, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office decided not to indict Mr. A, a man in his 40s, on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act.

Last January, while driving a vehicle on a two-lane road, Mr. A was accused of hitting Mr. B's electric bicycle riding on the shoulder and running away.

Mr. B fell on the road and suffered 3-week injuries including ruptured shoulder ligaments. Additionally, he spent about 2 million won on bicycle repairs. Mr. B claimed that even though Mr. A recognized that he had fallen through the car's side mirror, he left the scene without taking any action.

According to Article 5-3 of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, if a driver causes injury by failing to provide relief to the victim during an accident, he or she may be punished by imprisonment for more than one year or by a fine of up to 30 million won.

Mr. A denied the charges. It was confirmed that Mr. B had fallen, but since there was no direct contact between the vehicle and the bicycle, Mr. B claimed that he recognized it as a fall accident.

The prosecution determined that Mr. A was not guilty. The prosecution explained, “There were no signs of collision between the vehicle and the bicycle, and the victim also stated that he hit the bicycle handlebar, so there was no possibility of contact or the degree of contact was minimal. We cannot rule out the possibility that Mr. B fell for reasons other than Mr. A’s overtaking.”

Lawyer Kim Yu-jin of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, added, “For the special law (fleeing from person to death) to be applied, the driver must be aware of the damage caused by the accident.” He added, “The charge was not acknowledged because the possibility of contact was so slim that no sound was even heard when Mr. A passed Mr. B.”

Reporter Park Jae-gwan (paksunbi@fnnews.com)

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'Thump' while overtaking a bicycle... The prosecution’s decision on the driver who claimed “I couldn’t detect it” (link)