A 20-something unlicensed driver involved in a seven-car collision in Gangnam has been sent to trial while under arrest. According to legal sources, the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office Division 5 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-heon) formally charged the driver, identified as Kim, with specific crimes including hit-and-run causing injury under aggravated punishment law and dangerous driving causing injury, as well as violating the Road Traffic Act for driving without a license.
Prosecutors determined that at the time of the accident, Kim had taken clonazepam, a psychotropic drug, for medical treatment, impairing his ability to drive normally. Therefore, instead of applying the charges initially assigned by the police under the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling (causing injury), the prosecution applied the charges of dangerous driving causing injury under more severe legislation.
Earlier, on the afternoon of the 2nd, Kim, without a driving license, was driving his mother’s car through a side street in Geoyeo-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, when he hit a woman in her 30s who was pushing a stroller with her 4-year-old son, and fled the scene. About 40 minutes later, at 1:39 PM, Kim was apprehended as a current criminal after crashing into multiple vehicles and driving on the wrong side of the road on Teheran-ro, Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu.
The accident resulted in minor injuries for nine people and damaged a total of eight vehicles, including cars and motorcycles, including Kim’s car. During the police investigation, Kim reportedly stated that he had taken tranquilizers due to insomnia. On the 7th, police handed Kim over to the prosecution in custody.