Woman admiring cherry blossoms killed by drunk driver; husband says he cannot forgive

A woman viewing cherry blossoms with her husband was struck and killed by a drunk driver. Her family is calling for the harshest possible punishment, saying they cannot forgive the man responsible.

According to JTBC's crime affairs program "Sageon Banjang," which aired Friday, the accident occurred in April at a popular cherry blossom spot in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province.

The victim's husband, identified only as A, said the couple was walking along the road enjoying the blossoms when a vehicle swerving across the center line suddenly plowed into them. "The moment my wife said, 'The cherry blossoms are so beautiful,' the car came charging at us," he said. "I desperately called out to her, but it was all over in just two seconds."

A briefly lost consciousness from the impact. When he came to, he found his wife collapsed about four to five meters away. He immediately called emergency services and performed CPR under the guidance of paramedics, but she died at the hospital from a skull fracture and cerebral hemorrhage.

Investigators found that the driver had consumed about seven glasses of homemade liquor at a class reunion before getting behind the wheel. The vehicle had been weaving dangerously across the center line at the time of the crash.

The driver's blood alcohol concentration measured 0.137 percent — well above the threshold for license revocation. In a police interview, the driver said he remembered leaving the restaurant but had no recollection of getting behind the wheel or the accident itself.

The driver was also found to have received summary fines for two prior drunk-driving offenses.

Speaking through the program, A said he could never forgive the driver and had no intention of accepting any settlement or deposit. "I never imagined I could lose my wife in just two seconds," he said. "I only feel sorry that I couldn't protect the mother of our two children."

Prosecutors have sought a six-year prison sentence against the driver on charges of causing death through dangerous driving under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.