"Didn't See the Signal"... Pregnant Woman and Unborn Child Killed by Truck That Hit Couple on Their Way Home

"Settlement Reached with Victims’ Family"
Suspended Prison Sentence Handed Down

A man in his 50s who struck a newlywed couple with a 7.5-ton truck while they were crossing a crosswalk, resulting in the deaths of a pregnant woman and her unborn child, has received a suspended prison sentence.

According to the legal community on May 30, the Uijeongbu District Court’s 6th Criminal Division sentenced Mr. A, a man in his 50s, to two years in prison, suspended for three years, for causing death and injury under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents.

Mr. A was charged with hitting a man in his 30s, Mr. B, and a woman in her 20s, Ms. C, with a 7.5-ton truck at a crossroads in Singok-dong, Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi Province, around 10:00 p.m. on September 10 last year. Ms. C, who was a nurse in the intensive care unit at a university hospital, was on her way home with her husband after finishing her shift. At the time of the accident, the traffic signal for vehicles was red, and the victims were crossing the street in accordance with the pedestrian signal. However, it was found that Mr. A failed to keep a proper lookout and continued driving without stopping, causing the accident.

Mr. A reportedly stated that he did not see the signal because he was checking the side mirror due to the presence of a vehicle in the adjacent lane. As a result of the accident, Ms. C, who was 17 weeks pregnant, suffered a traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage and died 17 days after the incident; the fetus was also stillborn. Mr. B, her husband, sustained serious injuries including a rib fracture, traumatic hemothorax, and pulmonary contusion, requiring eight weeks of medical treatment.

The police, considering the severity of the case, applied for a detention warrant and secured Mr. A’s custody before referring the case for prosecution. The judge stated, "The defendant failed to notice the red light for vehicles, which had changed well before approaching the crosswalk, and the victims had already crossed about two-thirds of the crosswalk according to the green pedestrian signal when the accident occurred. The degree of negligence is significant, with the pregnant woman’s death, the stillbirth of the fetus, and the husband suffering serious injuries that still require treatment, making the consequences very grave." However, the court also noted, "The defendant reached a settlement with the victims, and has no prior criminal record beyond a monetary penalty," in delivering the sentence.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.