Mother in Critical Condition After Shielding Daughter from E-Scooter; Teen, Rental Company Indicted

The perpetrator in a case involving a mother in her 30s who fell into critical condition after being struck by an electric scooter while protecting her daughter has been referred to prosecutors five months after the incident.

Incheon Yeonsu Police Station announced on the 13th that it has indicted middle school student A without detention on charges of causing injury under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents and unlicensed driving under the Road Traffic Act, and has forwarded the case to prosecutors. The rental company that lent the scooter without properly verifying whether A had obtained a license, along with company executive B, were also referred to prosecutors without detention on charges of aiding unlicensed driving.

A is accused of striking a woman in her 30s, identified as C, while operating an electric scooter without a license on a sidewalk in Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon at approximately 4:37 p.m. on October 18 last year.

At the time of the accident, C had just bought cotton candy for her young daughter at a convenience store and was stepping onto the sidewalk when the incident occurred. According to the investigation, she spotted the scooter barreling toward her daughter without slowing down, threw her body in its path to block it, and fell backward.

C fell into critical condition from the accident and received long-term hospitalization. She continues to suffer from serious aftereffects including brain damage and cognitive impairment. C's husband stated, "My wife is still suffering from aftereffects including brain damage and cognitive impairment," adding, "No compensation for damages has been made whatsoever to this day."

Police also reviewed whether to charge another middle school student who was riding with A as an accomplice to unlicensed driving, but determined that applying such charges would be difficult and did not indict the individual.