Drunk driver faces arrest warrant after killing sanitation worker, fleeing scene

A woman in her 50s faces a detention hearing after allegedly driving drunk, striking a sanitation worker and fleeing the scene.

The Gwangmyeong Police Station in Gyeonggi Province said Sunday it had applied for an arrest warrant for the suspect, identified only as A, on charges including aggravated hit-and-run resulting in death under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

A is accused of driving a Kia K3 while intoxicated on Anyangcheon-ro near Haan-dong in Gwangmyeong at around 6:30 a.m. Saturday, striking a sanitation worker — identified only as B — who was cleaning a drainage channel. B was employed by the Geumcheon-gu district office in Seoul. A allegedly fled without rendering any assistance.

B was rushed to a hospital in cardiac arrest immediately after the collision but died there.

Police responded after another driver reported the incident and tracked A's vehicle by analyzing closed-circuit television footage from around the scene. Officers arrested A at a residence in Haan-dong, Gwangmyeong, roughly an hour after the crash. A's blood alcohol concentration at the time of arrest was at a level that would warrant license revocation, police said.

A is believed to have driven approximately 30 kilometers from a bar in Seongnam before the crash occurred near the residence.

A initially told investigators there had been no awareness of the collision and claimed to have consumed alcohol only after returning home. A later partially acknowledged the charges, saying, "I had drunk two bottles of soju and was driving when I felt something hit the car, but I did not know it was a person, so I just kept going."

Police plan to verify A's account using the vehicle's dashcam footage and will continue investigating whether A ran a red light or was speeding, given that the crash occurred at a three-way intersection.