Bus Driver Acquitted in Jury Trial Over Passenger's Fatal Accident

A bus driver charged in connection with the death of a passenger who was run over by the rear wheel after getting off a village bus has been acquitted in the first trial.

The Seoul Central District Court, Criminal Agreement Division 34 (Presiding Judge Han Sung-jin), found the bus driver, identified as A, not guilty of causing death by professional negligence under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents.

The trial was conducted as a jury trial. Although four out of the seven jurors voted for a guilty verdict and three for acquittal, the court did not follow the jury's majority opinion.

Under the Act on Citizen Participation in Criminal Trials, jury verdicts are advisory and do not have legal binding force.

Driver A was indicted for allegedly failing to fulfill his duty to prevent accidents in May of last year in Sangdo-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, which resulted in the death of a passenger in their 20s.

The accident occurred when the victim, after getting off the bus, walked two or three steps on the sidewalk, lost their balance, and fell toward the road.

Driver A, who did not see the victim fall, drove the bus forward. The victim was run over by the rear wheel and eventually died from a skull fracture.

The court determined that it was difficult to conclude, based solely on the submitted evidence, that Driver A had violated his professional duty of care.

The court explained that it is difficult for a driver to typically anticipate a situation where a passenger who has already disembarked and is walking on the sidewalk suddenly falls under the bus.

Furthermore, while it was confirmed that Driver A did not look at the right rear side when starting the bus, the court noted that it was an unavoidable situation where he had to look in the opposite direction for safety, as the road was a section where two lanes merge into one.

In addition, the court cited as grounds for the acquittal that Driver A had started the bus only after confirming the passenger had disembarked, and that he had been monitoring the right side until the victim was walking on the sidewalk.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.