[Anchor]

Prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant for a driver in his 60s who drove his vehicle into a flea market event venue in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, yesterday (September 19). It has been learned that the mother and son who died in the accident were individuals who consistently took the lead in such volunteer work, drawing an even greater sense of sorrow from those around them.

Reporter Kwon Min-kyu has the details.

[Reporter]

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

The seven people who were killed or injured at the scene were all volunteers who had dedicated their time and effort for their neighbors.

In particular, the mother in her 40s and her middle school-aged son who lost their lives had reportedly participated steadily for several years in sharing events hosted by the city of Anseong.

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

The wake for the two victims was crowded with acquaintances and school friends paying their respects, adding to the heartbreak.

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

In addition, a joint memorial altar will be operated for three days starting tomorrow to honor the victims together with citizens.

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 accident.

[Bae Byung-hwa / Accident Witness: (I asked the driver) how on earth did you end up doing that with the car, and (he answered) that he didn't know. He said he was completely out of it, whether he stepped on the accelerator pedal or what happened...]

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

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)