"He Hit Me With His Car" Man in His 70s Charged with Injury in Road Rage Incident Found 'Not Guilty' on Appeal

Charged with hitting the other driver with his car during a driving dispute... First instance: "6 months in prison, 1 year suspended sentence"
Appeal: "Defendant braked just before the collision... Victim likewise did not complain of injury right after the accident"

A man who was put on trial on charges of injuring another driver by hitting him with his car was found not guilty on appeal.

On the 24th of last month (July), the 1st Criminal Division of the Busan District Court, at the appellate sentencing hearing for Mr. A, a man in his 70s indicted on charges of aggravated injury, overturned the original judgment that had sentenced him to 6 months in prison suspended for 1 year, and found him not guilty.

Mr. A was charged with hitting and injuring Mr. B, the driver of another vehicle who had protested to him, with his car on a road in Busan in 2024.

At the time, Mr. B had gotten out of his car and was approaching to protest that Mr. A's driving had nearly caused an accident, but Mr. A was found to have driven straight ahead as he was.

The prosecution, taking the view that an angry Mr. A had intentionally struck Mr. B after the two drivers exchanged profanities and got into a dispute, brought the case to trial.

The first-instance court sentenced Mr. A to a suspended prison term. The court ruled, "The origin of the incident lay in the defendant's conduct, and had he apologized at the initial stage, the incident would not have escalated; instead he provoked further anger," adding, "We took into account factors such as the victim pleading for a severe punishment."

Disputing this, Mr. A submitted an appeal, arguing he had no intent. He said that when Mr. B stopped, he tried to change lanes and pass, but Mr. B suddenly blocked his path. He emphasized that he immediately braked and stopped, and that Mr. B did not complain of pain right after the accident.

The appellate court found him not guilty. The appellate bench said, "In the dashcam footage, the victim suddenly got out of his car and approached the defendant's vehicle, and the speed decreased just before contact with the victim," adding, "This makes it impossible to rule out the possibility that there was an intent to pull up alongside and settle the dispute through the window."

It further added, "Right after the vehicle contact, the victim only took issue with the other party's manner of driving and words," and "he returned to his own vehicle without any particular mention of a physical collision."

Meanwhile, attorney Kim Nak-hyung of Daeryun Law Firm (a law firm), who represented Mr. A, explained, "For aggravated injury using a vehicle to be established, it must be clearly proven that the defendant intended to strike the other party deliberately," and "Through the dashcam footage, we uncovered the fact that Mr. A had braked before contact and the circumstance that Mr. B abruptly blocked the car, allowing us to overturn the first-instance judgment and clear an unjust accusation." whyjay@sportsseoul.com

Reporter Shin Jae-yu

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"He Hit Me With His Car" Man in His 70s Charged with Injury in Road Rage Incident Found 'Not Guilty' on Appeal (Go to)