SEOUL, July 3 (AJU PRESS) - The driver of a deadly car crash in central Seoul on Monday has been booked for investigation and police are reportedly seeking an arrest warrant for him.
Police have apparently determined that the 68-year-old man had pressed the accelerator pedal of his Genesis luxury sedan at the time of the accident, which resulted in the deaths of nine people and injuries to seven others.
The tragic incident occurred at an intersection near Seoul City Hall around 9:27 p.m. (1227 GMT). The sedan was traveling in the wrong direction on a four-lane, one-way street, accelerating as it collided with two oncoming vehicles before plowing into pedestrians waiting at a crosswalk.
According to initial reports by some media outlets, the driver blamed the crash on a car malfunction, specifically "sudden unintended acceleration (SUA)," which is an unexpected and uncontrolled acceleration that often renders the brakes ineffective.
However, police have found evidence that contradicts this claim. Data from the car's event data recorder (EDR), which logs a vehicle's speed and braking patterns, indicated that the driver had pressed the accelerator pedal just before the crash. "It seems that the driver stepped on the accelerator pedal with more than 90 percent force just before the accident," a police officer said on Wednesday.
The police have handed over the vehicle's EDR to the National Forensic Service (NFS) for further investigation. Dashboard camera footage from other vehicles showed that the brake lights of the sedan only turned on as it started to slow down to come to a full stop after hitting about 20 people. Typically, SUA involves the engine running at full throttle, making it impossible to stop the vehicle before crashing into a wall or an immobile obstacle.
It is unlikely that the NFS will conclude that the accident was caused by SUA. According to data released by the National Assembly, a total of 766 car accidents suspected of SUA were reported between 2010 and 2022, but none of those cases were ruled by a court as SUA-related.
While the exact cause of the accident remains unclear, the latest incident has sparked debates over whether elderly people should continue driving. The recent increase in traffic accidents involving elderly drivers has led to calls for stronger safety measures.
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