All 7 Casualties Were Volunteers: 1-Ton Truck Rams Into Anseong Sharing Market

On the morning of September 19, a children's park in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province.

The bustling movements of volunteers organizing second-hand goods to share with neighbors and setting up tents for the weekend were instantly halted by a sudden 1-ton truck crash.

The public event site, intended to practice resource circulation and sharing, turned into chaos in a matter of moments, and a mother in her 40s and her middle school son, who had volunteered together side by side, tragically lost their lives.

According to police and the city of Anseong, volunteers and officials had gathered at the No. 10 Children's Park in Gongdo-eup, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, at 11:18 AM that day to prepare for the "Sharing Green Market" event scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM.

The event, hosted and organized by the city of Anseong and the Anseong Sustainable Development Council, was designed to raise citizens' awareness of the importance of recycling resources.

The volunteers were busy preparing a second-hand clothing and goods market along with various hands-on experience booths.

As the volunteers were fully occupied with event preparations with bright expressions, a 1-ton truck driven by a man in his 60s, identified as A, suddenly barreled into them, turning the venue into a scene of screams and chaos.

The truck struck seven people, including a woman in her 40s, B, and her middle school son, before coming to a stop after colliding with a steel pillar on the outer edge of the event venue.

The impact of the crash killed B and her son, while the other five sustained injuries ranging from serious to minor.

The park where the accident occurred was a pedestrian-only zone where vehicles are not allowed to pass.

It was understood that the accident occurred while the truck was making a forced entry into the park.

Reports indicated that because the scale of the event was not large, it did not fall under the category requiring requests for traffic and safety management consultation or cooperation from the police.

A police official stated, "Whether there was a vehicle safety controller at the time of the accident is something to be confirmed through investigation," adding, "However, a man was gesturing to guide the vehicle's entry, and the truck suddenly rushed forward as it crossed the pavement curb to enter the park."

The police plan to apply 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 sending the accident vehicle to the National Forensic Service for a detailed appraisal.

A reportedly stated in initial police questioning that he "mistook the accelerator pedal for the brake," but later changed his statement to claim that "the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own."

Police plan to investigate the exact cause of the accident through the driver, witnesses, and CCTV footage analysis, while also examining whether the organizers were negligent in safety management.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.