SEOUL: The driver involved in a recent car crash that killed nine pedestrians in central Seoul argued that a sudden unintended acceleration caused the accident during his first police interrogation. The questioning comes three days after the 68-year-old man's Genesis G80 sedan plowed through a sidewalk guardrail and hit pedestrians while traveling against traffic on a one-way road near Seoul City Hall on Monday night.
According to Yonhap News Agency, investigators were sent to the hospital to question the driver, identified only by his surname Cha, on Thursday afternoon. Cha claimed that his car suddenly accelerated out of control and that the brake did not work at the time of the accident, despite his attempts to apply it. He reiterated this stance during the interrogation, the police said.
However, some initial findings contradict his claim. Based on an ongoing analysis of the sedan's event data recorder (EDR), police suspect that the driver significantly pressed the accelerator shortly before the accident. Police also discovered that the secondary brake light did not illuminate during the accident, and no skid marks were found at the scene, findings that contradict the driver's claim of having applied the brake.
The questioning took place for about two hours from 2:45 p.m., with the driver's lawyer present. Further investigations will be conducted, according to the police. Investigators only questioned the driver about the circumstances of the accident in the initial questioning. They are expected to question the grounds for his claim of unintended acceleration and why he entered the road against traffic, as well as other details regarding his vehicle in follow-up investigations.
The previous day, a Seoul court denied an arrest warrant requested by the police for the driver, saying that he has no reason to evade police questioning, as he is currently hospitalized and under police protection for his personal safety, the officials said.