Police officers inspect a vehicle battered after a deadly car crash near Seoul City Hall on July 1, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jul. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Police were set to conduct their first questioning on Thursday of the driver involved in a recent car crash that killed nine pedestrians in downtown Seoul.
The questioning comes three days after the 68-year-old man’s Hyundai Genesis sedan plowed through a sidewalk guardrail and hit pedestrians while traveling against traffic on a one-way road near Seoul City Hall on Monday night.
A total of nine people were killed, including six who died at the scene, most of them office workers nearby. Seven other pedestrians were injured, while the driver has also been admitted to a hospital for broken ribs.
Officials from the Namdaemun Police Station said they plan to send investigators to the hospital to question the driver, identified by his family name Cha. The exact timing of the session is currently being discussed with his side, the officials said.
Cha has claimed that his car suddenly accelerated out of control and the brake did not work at the time of the accident, although he tried to apply the brake.
Some initial findings, however, contradict his claim. Based on an ongoing analysis of the sedan’s event data recorder (EDR), police suspect that the driver significantly pressed the accelerator shortly before the accident.
Police also discovered that the secondary brake light did not illuminate during the accident, and no skid marks were found at the scene, findings that contradict the driver’s claim of applying the brake.
Investigators are expected to question him about the grounds for the claim of unintended acceleration, why he entered the road against traffic as well as other details regarding his vehicle and the circumstances of the accident.
The duration of the questioning is expected to depend on his health condition.
(Yonhap)
