SBS News

News > Society

80-Year-Old Driver Who Fled After Hitting Child Claims "I Didn't Know"—Faces Judgment

Go Hui-gyeong

Published : Aug 25, 2026 8:00 AM

Video

[Anchor] First, let's look at the story of an 80-year-old driver who hit an elementary school student in a school zone and fled the scene.

[Reporter] The 80-year-old driver, identified as Mr. A, was put on trial for hitting an 11-year-old child with a car at a pedestrian crossing in front of an elementary school in Jeongeup, Jeollabuk-do, in May of last year, and leaving the scene without taking proper rescue measures.

Mr. A claimed that he was unaware of the accident, stating that his corrected visual acuity was 0.03 in his right eye and 0.3 in his left eye.

However, the black box footage captured Mr. A coming to a sudden stop right after the accident, and his wife, who was riding in the car with him, even rolling down the window and asking, "Are you hurt, kid?"

The appellate court also judged that given the impact was strong enough to cause the child to bounce off the vehicle, he would have been fully capable of recognizing the accident through the vibrations of the car body or the sound of the collision.

In particular, the court pointed out that because the victim was an 11-year-old child, necessary measures should have been taken, such as taking the victim to the hospital or contacting the parents.

Ultimately, the court dismissed Mr. A's appeal, upholding the lower court's sentence of 10 months in prison suspended for 2 years.