"Volunteered for Years": Mourners Visit Memorial as Arrest Warrant Sought for Driver

[Anchor]

Prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant for a driver in his 60s who drove a vehicle into a flea market event venue in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, yesterday (September 19). The mother and son who died in the accident were known to have regularly participated in such volunteer work, deepening the sorrow of those around them.

Reporter Kwon Min-kyu has the details.

[Reporter]

A 1-ton truck crashed into a secondhand flea market held in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, yesterday.

All seven people who were killed or injured at the scene were volunteers who had dedicated their time and effort to help their neighbors.

In particular, the victimized mother in her 40s and her teenage middle school son had reportedly consistently participated in sharing events hosted by the city of Anseong for several years.

[Park Hee-sung / Vice Chairperson, Anseong Sustainable Development Council: They were a family that continuously volunteered together. The youngest child and the husband were also there, and they narrowly managed to escape and performed CPR right there.]

Mourners, including acquaintances and school friends, continued to visit the wake of the two victims, adding to the heartbreak.

The city of Anseong held an emergency meeting and decided to provide support for the victims' funerals and professional psychological counseling.

The city also plans to operate a joint memorial altar for three days starting tomorrow to allow citizens to mourn the victims together.

Prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant for driver A, in his 60s, who caused the vehicle crash.

Driver A is a fixed-term worker at the Anseong City Hall and reportedly caused the accident while attempting to park a city-owned truck nearby to promote the event on the day of the incident.

[Bae Byung-hwa / Accident Witness: (When I asked the driver) how the car ended up like that, (he said) he didn't know. He said his mind was blank and he didn't know whether he stepped on the accelerator pedal or what happened.]

It was found that driver A initially claimed during police questioning, "I tried to press the brake but stepped on the accelerator pedal instead," but later changed his statement to claim that "the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own."

Police plan to commission the National Forensic Service to conduct a detailed appraisal of the vehicle to determine whether sudden unintended acceleration occurred.

(Video Editing: Ahn Yeo-jin, Design: Lee Jong-jung, Footage Provided by: Anseong City and Viewer Song Young-hoon)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.