Foreign student arrested for 'sleep driving'

A foreign student in his 20s was arrested in Geumsan, Chungcheongnam-do, who hit five people, including elementary school students, in a car and caused a traffic accident. According to the police on the 27th, A is accused of driving a car in Chubu-myeon, Geumsan-gun, crossing the central line and rushing to the opposite sidewalk at around 8:15 a.m. on the 25th and killing four elementary and middle school students on their way to school. Earlier, the police judged that the violation of the central line and speed limit violated the duty of care and applied for an arrest warrant for A, citing concerns about escape. In a police investigation, A stated, "I fell asleep while driving after taking cold medicine without sleeping the previous day," and the drug and alcohol tests tested negative. All five were injured in the accident, of which two elementary school students were taken to a hospital unconscious and then regained consciousness and are being treated. The accident was not a child protection zone, but it was about 400 meters away from an elementary school with speed bumps. It is said that the damage was great because the accident vehicle did not slow down. Meanwhile, Mr. A is a foreign student, so he only subscribed to liability insurance for up to 20 million won and did not subscribe to comprehensive insurance. For this reason, additional hospital expenses have to be paid by the victims, and hospital expenses have been sponsored by the online community as it became known that the victims lived in childcare facilities.

Date: 2023-03-31

Reporter: 정새울