Driver who killed pedestrian a week after injuring motorcyclist avoids prison

A driver who caused a fatal pedestrian accident just one week after injuring a motorcyclist in a separate crash has avoided prison. The court took into account that the defendant had reached a settlement with the victim's family.

Judge Park Byung-min of the Changwon District Court's Tongyeong Branch sentenced the defendant, identified only as A, to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years, on Sept. 9 on charges of negligent driving causing death under the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling. The court also ordered 160 hours of community service and 40 hours of safe-driving education.

In March last year, A caused an accident on a road in Tongyeong while changing lanes from the second to the third lane, failing to keep a proper lookout and striking a motorcycle traveling straight in the third lane. The female victim, in her 60s, sustained injuries requiring eight weeks of medical treatment.

While under police investigation for that incident, A caused another accident just six days later — this time striking a woman in her 50s who was crossing an unmarked crosswalk. Investigators found that A had failed to check whether any pedestrians were present.

Prosecutors indicted A on charges of violating the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling. During the trial, A acknowledged the charges.

The court found A guilty, though the charge related to injuring the motorcyclist — negligent driving causing bodily harm under the same act — was dismissed after A reached a settlement with that victim. Under Korean law, such offenses cannot be prosecuted when the victim does not wish to pursue punishment. Only the charge of negligent driving causing death was upheld.

The court opted for a suspended sentence rather than immediate imprisonment.

In explaining the sentencing, the court said the victim "died because A failed to see her crossing a crosswalk in broad daylight and neglected the duty to keep watch ahead," adding that "A's negligence was severe and the outcome devastating."

The court further noted that A "committed the offense without exercising restraint, despite having caused a traffic accident approximately one week earlier," and that A had a prior conviction for the same type of offense.

However, the court said it chose to suspend the sentence, citing the fact that A had reached a settlement with the bereaved family, who did not wish to see A punished. The court added that it had taken into account "a range of factors, including A's age, conduct, circumstances, the background of the incident, and the situation following the offense."

The ruling was finalized without appeal. Neither the prosecution nor A appealed the first-instance verdict.