A community bus driver was put on trial over an accident in which a passenger who got off the bus fell and was crushed to death by the bus's rear wheel. But the court found the driver not guilty, ruling that the accident was difficult to foresee.
According to the legal community Thursday, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Settlement Division 34 (presiding judge Han Sung-jin) acquitted a community bus driver, identified as A, who had been indicted on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents (causing death).
The trial was conducted as a jury trial. Among the seven jurors, four found the defendant guilty and three found him not guilty, but the court ultimately rendered a verdict of not guilty. The verdict of jurors in a jury trial carries advisory effect without legal binding force.
A was indicted on charges of starting the bus without properly checking passenger safety on a road in Sangdo-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, in May last year, causing the death of a passenger in his or her 20s.
The accident occurred immediately after the passenger got off the bus. After alighting, the victim walked two or three steps toward the sidewalk, then lost balance and fell toward the roadway.
At the time, A started the bus without noticing this, and the victim was crushed by the bus's rear wheel, suffering fatal injuries including a skull fracture and dying.
The court, however, judged that it was difficult to recognize A's professional negligence based solely on the submitted evidence. It said a driver could not ordinarily have anticipated a situation in which a passenger who had gotten off the bus and was walking on the sidewalk would suddenly fall beneath the bus.
"It is difficult to conclude that there was a professional duty of care to drive safely while anticipating such an occurrence," the court said.
The court also acknowledged that A did not continuously watch the right rear, where the victim was, when starting the bus. But it found that, since the accident site was a section where two lanes merged into one, A needed to check the opposite side to assess the road conditions.
The court additionally took into comprehensive consideration that A started the bus after confirming the passenger had alighted, and that he had confirmed the victim walking about two steps toward the sidewalk, in handing down the acquittal.
