Authorities in Seoul, South Korea, confirmed the deaths of nine people and at least six injured on Monday after a driver, speeding down the street in the wrong direction, rammed into other cars and pedestrians before coming to an abrupt halt.
The incident, described by South Korean media as an “accident” on Tuesday, remains unsolved. Police identified the driver as a 68-year-old professional bus driver in a Hyundai Genesis sedan, but have not revealed his name. Initial testing indicated that he was not drunk or high on drugs. No reports have suggested that police have any evidence linking the individual to terrorist activity.
The man reportedly told police that the car abruptly accelerated and that stepping down on the brake had no effect. Witnesses have questioned that explanation, however, claiming the driver did not appear to steer the car away from where crowds of people were standing and the car stopped without hitting anything to deter its movement. Adding to the confusion is surveillance footage showing the car was already driving in the wrong direction at high speed before it began to plow into people and other cars.
The South Korean news service Yonhap reported that the driver “went against traffic about 200 meters after leaving a hotel near Seoul City Hall at 9:27 p.m. Monday before striking two vehicles and many pedestrians, crossing an intersection and stopping near City Hall Station.” Many of the victims are workers at Seoul City Hall, some of whom were returning from a late dinner to continue working throughout the night. Others were identified as employees at a local bank.
As of Tuesday, authorities have also not offered any information suggesting a relationship between the driver and the victims to indicate that he had targeted anyone in particular.
“Of the nine fatalities, two were Seoul city government employees, four were employees at a nearby bank and three were employees at a company doing outsourced work from hospitals,” the Korea JoongAng Daily newspaper reported on Tuesday. Friends of two of the victims said they had died right before being promoted or receiving awards for good work.
The bus driver, JoongAng reported, was still working at 68 and had been driving buses for over 40 years. Reports at press time on Tuesday did not offer any details on his record as a driver, any previous accidents, or other relevant information.
Police apprehended the driver, whose wife was in the passenger’s seat, immediately after the car came to a stop. KBS World reported that the driver had complained of chest pain before the crash. In custody, the driver reportedly said that the car suddenly accelerated and that he repeatedly tried to hit the brakes, but they had no effect.
Police authorities, who are expected to pursue a warrant to keep the driver in custody, told reporters on Tuesday that charges against him for the many deaths incurred “would not change” if an investigation finds “sudden unintended acceleration” responsible for the incident. Such a discovery would implicate not just the driver, however, but Hyundai, which could face criminal liability and many expensive lawsuits from the victims if found to have sold the car while having reason to know of a potentially fatal flaw in its construction.
The investigation into the vehicle continues as of Tuesday press time; police in Seoul told reporters they had not yet closely watched local surveillance camera footage to study the behavior of the car.
Experts speaking to Yonhap expressed significant doubt that a mechanical error was responsible for the crash.
“Considering many circumstances, the possibility of the driver’s carelessness or inattention, rather than sudden unintended acceleration, should be looked into,” Yeom Gun-woong, a professor at U1 University, told the outlet. “It is difficult to assume that a car abruptly shifts from unintended acceleration to normal operation after an accident and stops.”
The expert suggested that “the driver may have panicked after entering the one-way road in reverse and hit the accelerator, trying to get off the road quickly.” Others suggested that the driver may have accidentally been stepping on the accelerator aggressively while thinking he was pressing the brake.
Another expert, professor Kim Pil-soo of Daelim University College, also added that he did not think the driver could claim being unsuitable to drive due to age.
“It is difficult to determine the cause of sudden acceleration accidents, and sometimes people make excuses because they are reluctant to admit their own mistakes,” Kim said. “At age 68, a man cannot be considered a super-elderly person, meaning there’s a small possibility of weakened abilities to operate devices or make decisions.”
Eyewitnesses speaking to local media also appeared skeptical that a sudden mechanical error was responsible for the deaths.
“He applied the brakes at the end. Right there, after hitting everyone,” an unnamed witness told South Korea’s Arirang News. “You know how drivers usually deal with sudden acceleration. They try to hit a power pole. There was nothing like that. He just stopped here.”
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