"Always Volunteered Mother, Caring Son"... Grief Grips Anseong Mother-Son Tragic Accident

"How much pain must our daughter and grandson have been in? How could you leave me behind?"

On the morning of the 20th, at a funeral hall in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, where the bodies of the mother and child killed in the flea market vehicle crash were laid to rest.

The funeral parlor, still quiet with few mourners, echoed for hours with the wails of an elderly mother who lost both her daughter and grandson at once.

Other bereaved family members stared blankly at the portraits of the deceased with tearful eyes, unable to utter a word.

Sighs occasionally escaped as if they could not accept the sudden deaths, and the bereaved families bowed their heads once again.

Outside the funeral hall, wreaths of condolence sent by the Anseong City Hall and the Anseong Sustainable Development Council were lined up.

The middle school that the deceased son had attended also sent a wreath to express condolences.

The woman in her 40s, who was killed in a 1-ton truck crash at a flea market event in Anseong on the 19th, was affiliated with the Anseong Sustainable Development Council and had reportedly volunteered consistently for 4 to 5 years alongside her family at local green markets, adding to the sorrow.

Council members who were present at the scene of the accident could not hide their grief over the sudden loss of a colleague and her son, with whom they had worked together.

One official tearfully said about the deceased son, "For a middle school boy, it might have felt awkward to tag along with his mother for volunteer work, but he was a kind child who always came out with his siblings and helped with what his mother did," adding, "Good people left us far too early."

When asked about the situation at the time of the accident, the official was unable to continue speaking, calling it "a terrible thing that happened in the blink of an eye."

Students who were in the same class as the son also visited the funeral hall in their school uniforms alongside their parents.

A classmate, surnamed A, said, "He was a friend who always took good care of his peers and looked out for those around him," adding, "I am struck by an indescribable sadness that my friend has passed away so suddenly."

Anseong Mayor Bora also visited the funeral hall at 10:30 a.m. that day to pay respects and comfort the bereaved families.

Holding back their tears, the bereaved families pleaded, "We cannot let them go like this. Since this is an accident where citizens' safety was threatened, please make responsibilities clear," and urged, "Please state Anseong City's clear stance and measures."

Earlier at 11:18 a.m. on the 19th, while preparing for a sharing market event at a park in Gongdo-eup, Anseong, a 1-ton truck owned by Anseong City suddenly lunged forward, killing the mother and child at the scene and injuring five others.

Investigations showed that the accident vehicle plunged forward for about 25 meters while entering the park for promotional vehicle purposes.

The driver, a person in their 60s identified as A and a temporary worker for Anseong City, initially stated to police investigation that they "mistook the accelerator pedal for the brake," but later reportedly claimed sudden unintended acceleration.

Police have applied for an arrest warrant for A on charges of causing death and injury through occupational negligence under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents, while investigating the exact cause of the accident by conducting a detailed appraisal of the accident vehicle.

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